Flights cancelled as freezing rain, blizzard conditions wallop Eastern Canada
A mix of freezing rain, ice pellets, sleet, strong winds underway as power outages spread
Freezing rain, blowing snow, ice pellets and strong winds are prompting weather alerts for much of Eastern Canada.
By Monday evening, orange alerts — the second-highest level — remained in place for Ontario, Quebec and some parts of Nova Scotia.
Blizzard conditions have affected Northern Ontario and Quebec, with heavy snow and strong winds in areas such as Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins in Ontario and Val d'Or in Quebec.
The Ottawa and Montreal areas could see up to 15 millimetres of ice accretion from freezing rain, starting Monday and ending Tuesday evening. Southwesterly winds of up to 70 km/h are also expected, with winds of up to 90 km/h in Montreal and the western parts of the island.
Thousands were left without power throughout the day in Ontario and Quebec, as well as a further 2,000 in New Brunswick as of Monday evening.
The situation in Ontario
In Toronto, London and the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay regions, Environment and Climate Change Canada is warning of blizzard conditions with "dangerous snow squalls."
"An initial brief, intense snow squall is expected this morning along a cold front," the agency said, noting the snow, followed by a temperature drop, could lead to icy surfaces and hazardous travel conditions. Northwesterly winds of 70 to 90 km/h will be in the mix, the warning said.
Blizzard conditions that are expected to last into Tuesday.
Click on this interactive map on the red, orange and yellow areas to get more information on the weather alerts across Canada:
"It means treacherous driving," said Gerald Cheng, meteorologist with the weather agency.
"Certainly be careful out there, because the warmest part of the day has come and gone. We got up to 11 degrees, believe it or not, during the overnight hours, but that has passed and now we are back to sub-zero weather," he told CBC London.
As of 7:50 p.m. ET, the Ontario Provincial Police reported several highway closures throughout the western and central regions.
The heavy snowfall had Ryan Pilon, owner of Timmins Snow Removal, out plowing roads in Timmins, Ont., at 2 a.m. Monday and he said he doesn't expect the work to let up until late Tuesday.
"It's pretty much whiteout conditions, couple feet of snow on the highways, very hard to get around, definitely not safe," Pilon said as snow pelted his face. "Most of the city's shut down and it's definitely very cold and you can't see anything."
A handful of cars that had ventured out were doing so with their hazard lights on, Pilon said.
"I grew up here my whole life and I've maybe seen a storm once or twice like this," he said. "This is pretty bad."
By 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Environment Canada reported at least 17 centimetres of snow had accumulated at Timmins Airport, 13 centimetres in Sault Ste. Marie and 26 centimetres in Lake Superior Provincial Park.
A number of flights were cancelled or delayed in Montreal, Toronto and London, Ont. Montreal's Trudeau airport told Radio-Canada that roughly 12 per cent of flights have been affected, while more than 60 flights were delayed at Toronto's Pearson airport and about 10 were cancelled.
Air Canada cautioned, on its website, that flights to and from Montreal, Ottawa and both Toronto airports could be affected Tuesday, as the airline recovers from the backlog.
Via Rail cancelled morning trains on its Quebec City-Windsor route and coupled a number of afternoon trains along the corridor so they could leave at a later time.
"All affected passengers were notified a day in advance and were offered the option to cancel or change their travel at no additional cost," Via Rail said in an emailed statement.
And in Montreal
Montreal was coated in thick ice Monday morning, causing slippery streets and sidewalks.
A Montreal-area ambulance service reported receiving more than 100 calls to 911 per hour. Urgences-santé said most of the calls involved people who had fallen and hurt themselves, though that number dropped throughout the day.
Spokesperson Valérie Guertin urged people to stay home if possible, and if they have to go outside, she advised them to wear crampons and adapt their driving to the weather.
"Ambulance requests [are] mostly for falls on the ice, traumatic injuries or people with injuries following a fall," she said in a phone interview. Ambulance crews have been able so far to handle the level of calls, but they are asking people who witness a fall to call 911 only if they're sure the person has been hurt, she added.
Meteorologist Eric Tomlinson said the precipitation had largely shifted to regular rain by late morning in Montreal, but that freezing rain continued to fall north of the city. He warned that the temperature is expected to drop sharply overnight, which could once again turn surfaces slippery.
The weather caused headaches for commuters hoping to use the Montreal-area light-rail network, or REM, which reported service slowdowns and shutdowns throughout Monday morning. Those happened despite crews running trains all night long to avoid ice accumulation in the hopes of ensuring normal service.
The weather, snowfall accumulations and slippery conditions have affected driving outside Montreal, with authorities closing a number of roads throughout southeastern Quebec.
In the Maritimes
Environment and Climate Change Canada is calling for extreme winds — up to 140 km/h — in northern Nova Scotia, particularly the northeastern tip of the province. Most of the Maritimes are under yellow warnings from the weather agency for freezing rain that could in some places lead to flooding, the agency said.
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With files from The Canadian Press