The relentless weather is causing misery this morning across much of Canada, with southern Ontario hit with freezing rain, wind-chill warnings in some parts of the Prairies and 30,000 Newfoundlanders still in the dark after a mass power outage on the weekend.
In Ontario, parts of the province were hit with massive snowfalls, while other areas, including the Toronto region, were pelted with snow and freezing rain.
Snow plows prepare to clear slushy streets in Toronto on Monday as forecasters warn freezing rain will turn roads in much of Southern Ontario into ice paths. (Tony Smyth/CBC)
"In southern Ontario, that temperature is starting to drop and quickly," CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland said Monday morning. "That slushy mix on the roads is icing up quickly."
Both drivers and pedestrians are urged to be aware of a possible flash freeze during the morning commute. A flash-freeze warning comes when a steep temperature drop causes water from rain or melted snow to quickly freeze.
The weather wreaked havoc at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Monday morning, with hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed. Both Air Canada and WestJet advised customers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
"I wasn't five minutes here at the airport before people started telling me horror stories of being stuck on an airplane for hours on end," CBC reporter Linda Ward said from the airport.
"Passengers are telling me their planes just couldn't get to the gate because of so many cancelled planes, so it's definitely a very frustrating scene here this morning ... The people who were on those planes [are] very angry, very tired, very hungry ... They say all in all this was just a horrible travel experience."
Environment Canada extended wind-chill and flash freeze warnings for the Toronto area on Monday morning, warning temperatures will feel as cold as –35 C to –40 C Monday night and into Tuesday morning.
A pedestrian braves the blizzard conditions in Halifax on Friday. The region is in the grip of unseasonably cold temperatures with heavy snow and high winds. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
The City of Toronto issued an extreme cold weather alert Monday morning, which is called to trigger additional services for the homeless.
A mix of snow and rain in Toronto, and snow further north, produced hundreds of accidents on the roads and highways Sunday evening, including one crash in Brampton that left one man dead.
Local school boards warned parents to check online Monday morning to see if any schools cancelled classes for the day. The Toronto District School Board said all schools would be open but warned of potential delays, while the Toronto Catholic District School Board said all facilities would be open.
Northwestern Ontario, meanwhile, was under a wind chill warning, where icy winds were making it feel as cold as –45 C.
Much of Quebec was also facing adverse weather warnings Monday morning. Environment Canada issued winter storm, freezing rain and wind warnings for most of the province.
Storm wallops Atlantic Canada
The winter weather blast also left much of Atlantic Canada under weather advisories.
A woman shovels out after a winter storm hit St. John's. N.L., on Sunday. (Paul Daly/Canadian Press)
"Atlantic Canada is a real mess ... where I see the risk of freezing rain continuing this morning as a warm front pushes north," Scotland said.
"For much of the Maritimes, this will switch over to rain through the morning and early afternoon ... and further east warnings are out for Newfoundland who deal with this mess tonight through tomorrow — gusty wind, freezing rain and heavy rain."
Environment Canada issued freezing rain warnings for most of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia was under freezing rain and rainfall warnings, while Newfoundland was under freezing rain, blizzard and wind warnings.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, about 30,000 Newfoundland Power customers were still without electricity Monday morning after a power plant went offline in the latest power problem to hit the province in recent days.
Aging infrastructure, a terminal station fire and a blizzard that ripped through the province Friday night combined to overburden an already stretched electricity grid, according to Premier Kathy Dunderdale.
She said it is hoped power will be restored to all customers at some point Monday.
"We're asking people of the province to conserve. The response was immediate when we made the request yesterday and we saw an impact almost immediately with demand decreasing," Dunderdale told CBC News.
"We want life to be as normal as possible during this period but, you know, if you're not using rooms in your house, close the door and turn down the heat ... We want to treat the system calmly, but we want to keep life normal too."
Dunderdale stood by a statement she made over the weekend in which she said the ongoing power outages are not considered a "crisis."
"Words are important. We certainly don't want to alarm people or describe a situation as more than it is," she said.
"We are going through a critical time here in the province because of an unfortunate series of events ... People are uncomfortable. They are inconvenienced, there's no doubt about it. But all services are being provided ... I don't know how others describe a crisis, but this isn't the circumstance that I would describe in this way."
At the peak of the power outages Saturday morning, about 190,000 customers were in the dark, Newfoundland Power said. Rotating outages lasting about an hour were also back in effect Monday morning, to conserve energy and help in the widespread power-restoration work.
Prairie deep freeze
Meanwhile, much of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are under extreme wind chill warnings, where residents are facing temperatures that feel as cold as –40 C with wind chill.
"To the east, wind chill warnings are out from Hanna in eastern Alberta through southern Saskatchewan [and] Manitoba," Scotland said.
"Across this warned area, current temps are well into the –30s C with wind chills well into the –40s."
CBC reporter Chris Glover said the frigid weather made for a hectic commute in Winnipeg on Monday morning.
"There's a lot of traffic, a lot of icy road conditions and a lot of people are late for work today because of it. But it's not just that. These temperatures are also quite dangerous," he said.
The potentially record-low temperatures are heightening fears of frostbite and hypothermia.
"When the wind chill values are into –40 C, and in some places –50 C, it can be very dangerous for people ... and in these conditions, exposed skin can freeze in as little as five minutes," said Glover. "So people have to bundle up, they have to be careful."
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