Norovirus spreading at 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Get ready for some extremely cold days this winter, according to the 2023 Canadian edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
“Frosty, frigid, freezing . . . however you say ‘cold,’ that’s what’s in store for most Canadians this winter,” the editor of the Canadian edition, Janice Stillman, said in a statement.
“As an added ‘bonus,’ we also expect a number of unusual mini-deep-freezes throughout many parts of the country, which will sneak up and surprise with their intensity.”
The periodical also predicts that the cold weather will come early, with “icebox conditions” arriving sometime in the second half of November.
Already, wintry weather struck in Northern Canada this month, when parts of Nunavut experienced temperatures that fell into the low single digits last week.
Southern Quebec and Atlantic Canada could see their first snowstorm as early as November, the Almanac forecasts, with several additional major snowstorms to follow later in the season. In the Prairies, the Almanac is expecting temperatures to be 7C degrees colder than average by January.
Ontario, which had to dig out of a record-breaking snowstorm this past January, could see a snowier winter, while warmer parts of central Canada and much of B.C. could see more sleet and freezing rain.
Founded in 1792,and the oldest continuously published periodical in North America, The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims to have an overall accuracy rate of 80 per cent – a figure meteorologists and weather experts have questioned over the years. Last year, the Almanac was highly accurate in predicting precipitation trends, but was only about 50 per cent accurate in forecasting the direction of temperature, according to the periodical’s own analysis of its forecast.
This year’s predictions for colder temperatures and heavier snowfall generally fall in line with the long-range weather predictions made by its similarly named competitor, The Farmer’s Almanac, though the slightly newer annual publication – founded in 1818 – is expecting decent skiing conditions in B.C. and a mix of snow, sleet, ice, and rain in the Maritimes.
Both almanacs use similar considerations to make their long-term forecasts, including solar science or sunspots and weather patterns. Both publications also use additional proprietary meteorological formulas. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says it continuously updates its technology and methods and uses the latest satellite data, technology and equipment to make its long-range projections.
The almanacs are not the only ones making long-term weather predictions either. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday La Nina conditions, which involve a large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperatures, are expected to last until the end of the year. La Nina is a natural and cyclical cooling of parts of the equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide, but its continued strong presence is abnormal. Even so, it gives meteorologists more confidence with their forecasts, Brett Anderson, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather told CTVNews.ca last week.
Before winter hits, La Nina conditions have weather experts like Anderson predicting a stormy and wet fall in B.C., with a higher risk of floods and mudslides. The Prairies are expected to see milder-than-normal, dry temperatures, particularly in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Eastern Canada could also see warmer and drier weather, which could push the peak of fall colours back by a week.
With files from CTVNews.ca writer Melissa Lopez-Martinez and The Associated Press
Norovirus is spreading at a 'higher frequency' than expected in Canada, specifically, in Ontario and Alberta, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The same storm system that brought deadly tornadoes to parts of the U.S. is heading north, hammering some Canadian provinces with rain and snow, according to latest forecasts.
A gold watch worn by John Jacob Astor IV, a member of the wealthy Astor family and the richest man aboard the Titanic, sold for a record-breaking US$1.485 million at auction on Saturday.
Anne Hathaway first shared she lost interest in drinking after a bad hangover in 2018. She’s now five years sober.
A boycott targeting Loblaw is gaining momentum online, with what could be thousands of shoppers taking their money elsewhere in May.
French actor Gérard Depardieu has been taken into police custody in Paris to face questioning, his lawyer told CNN Monday.
McGill University says the growing encampment on its lower field in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza violates its policies.
The trial for the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg is set to begin on Monday.
Jim Arner was always interested in genealogy and discovering more about his ancestry. But after submitting his own DNA test, he learned an old work colleague was actually a distant cousin.
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.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.