Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A cold snap that triggered Environment Canada alerts involving eight provinces and territories extended into a second day on Saturday, shattering several past temperature records and leaving thousands of customers in Atlantic Canada without power.
A massive arctic air system that blanketed much of the country on Friday previously prompted the weather agency to issued extreme cold alerts for six provinces spanning Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as some communities in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The bulk of those alerts remained in place on Saturday, though they had been lifted for southern regions of Quebec and Ontario as temperatures were forecast to rise in those areas.
Environment Canada meteorologist Darin Borgel said the persistent, frigid temperatures and wind chill values are “unprecedented” for the region.
“This has been an absolutely record-breaking cold snap for all of Eastern Canada,” Borgel said in an interview, noting temperatures feel like -40 C to -50 C in some areas
Borgel said the cold snap was brought on by an immense Arctic air mass that he expects will pass by Sunday afternoon.
The freezing temperatures and accompanying winds also prompted widespread power outages in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia Power at one point had upwards of 25,000 customers in the dark, though that number had fallen below 13,000 as of early Saturday afternoon.
Matt Drover, a senior director with the utility, said in an email that frigid temperatures can damage equipment and “trip protective devices” which can cause power outages.
He said power restoration work began early Saturday morning and it's expected residents will have electricity restored by the end of the day.
More than 6,000 people were without power in New Brunswick Saturday afternoon. In P.E.I., service was restored for all but 350 of the roughly 2,300 customers who were without power at the peak of the outages.
Borgel said while arctic air masses trigger cold snaps throughout the Canadian winter, this one stands out due to its brevity and severity.
“This is one of the coldest (cold snaps) we have seen in a long time,” Borgel said.
Fortunately, he said, it's also expected to be short-lived. While some cold snaps can extend for days, Borgel forecast temperatures would start to rise in most areas by Sunday.
Friday saw five New Brunswick communities break records for coldest temperatures ever tracked on Feb. 3, according to an Environment Canada statement released Saturday.
In Moncton, for instance, temperatures dropped to -28.1 C, which broke a 1917 cold weather record of -27.8 C for that date. The communities of Grand Manan, Miscou Island, Saint John and St. Stephen also saw records fall.
When factoring in the wind chill, Borgel said conditions in some parts of New Brunswick felt like -40 C, while areas in the northern part of the province experienced winds that made it feel like -50 C.
“This is quite unprecedented, we've never seen anything that cold there for quite some time,” Borgel said.
Five Nova Scotia communities also broke records for the coldest temperatures tracked on that particular day.
The Halifax area experienced -25.6 C Friday without the wind chill, well below the Feb. 3, 1971 record of -24.4 C.
A record from 1885 was broken in Yarmouth, where Friday's temperatures dropped to -21.8 C before the wind chill. The previous cold weather record for Feb. 3 was -18.9 C. Brier Island, Kentville and Port Hawkesbury also set new local cold-weather records.
The onset of the freezing conditions on Friday sent cities, towns, governments and private agencies scrambling to provide shelter for vulnerable people. In such conditions, frostbite can develop in minutes on exposed skin.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2023.
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.