Southern Ontario and Quebec are set to receive a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain on Wednesday, while large parts of Western Canada face extreme cold.
Environment Canada has issued weather warnings affecting much of the country. In the Prairies and parts of B.C., wind chill values below -40 C are expected while in southern Ontario, up to 20 centimetres of snow and 20 millimetres of ice could accumulate.
The two storm systems responsible for this hazardous weather had already barrelled through much of the northern United States on Wednesday, shutting down roadways and closing schools.
SNOW, FREEZING RAIN IN ONT., QUE.
Almost the entirety of southern Ontario is under a freezing rain, winter storm or snowfall warning. Light snow had begun to fall in the region on Wednesday morning and this will only pick up.
"What starts light at first by mid-afternoon really begins to intensify from Windsor up towards Hamilton," CTV’s Your Morning meteorologist Kelsey McEwen told CTV News Channel on Wednesday.
In Hamilton, Niagara and southwestern Ontario, a "prolonged period of freezing rain" is expected to start Wednesday afternoon, according to Environment Canada, warning that the regions could be coated in 10 to 20 millimetres of ice. Wind gusts of up to 60 km/h are also expected.
"Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and extremely hazardous. Slow down driving in slippery conditions. Watch for taillights ahead and maintain a safe following distance. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas. Beware of branches or electrical wires that could break under the weight of ice," Environment Canada said in its alert.
In the Greater Toronto Area and parts of eastern Ontario, up to 10 to 15 centimetres of snowfall is expected, in addition to ice pellets. The snow will be heavy later in the afternoon, picking up to three to four centimetres per hour.
The Ottawa region is also expected to be hit with a blast of up to 20 cm of snowfall late Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning.
Environment Canada has also issued special weather statements for the Montreal region and parts of southern Quebec. These regions are also expected to receive up to 20 cm of snow late in the evening on Wednesday and Thursday morning as the storm system moves eastward.
As of Wednesday morning, no alerts were issued for Atlantic Canada, but McEwen says the Maritimes will be hit with the same weather system by Friday.
"You'll notice on that warning map there were no advisories in place for the Maritimes. It's just for now. They likely will have some type of advisory issued later on," she said.
EXTREME COLD IN WESTERN CANADA
The Prairies, parts of B.C., northern Ontario, northern Quebec and Nunavut are dealing with a bitter cold snap, plunging wind chill values into the -40 C range, as a bitterly cold Arctic air mass makes it way south.
In Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and parts of northern Ontario, Environment Canada warns of wind chill values in the -40 C to -45 range. However, in northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba and parts of Nunavut, wind chill values of up to -50 C are expected, while parts of Nunavik, Que. could see wind chill values drop down to -57 C.
"Risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter," Environment Canada said. "Watch for cold related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes."
Some school boards have also chosen to close schools or and cancel bus services. Cities including Calgary and Saskatoon are also mobilizing warming stations for unhoused residents.
Later in the week, this Artic air mass is expected to move east, bringing cold weather to southern Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
"Temperatures for Toronto, for Ottawa, for Montreal -- they drop by end of the week. We'll see that same drop in temperatures right through Atlantic Canada as well with some communities bottoming out and minus double digits as your daytime highs," McEwan said.
