Ottawa: Seemingly never-ending snow, extreme cold, and a mix of ice pellets and freezing rain. Across much of Canada, it’s been a nasty holiday weekend for weather.
Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for much of eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
The agency said southern Ontario could expect 15 to 25 centimetres of additional snow. For much of eastern Ontario and western Quebec, the weather service predicted another 25 to 40 centimetres of snowfall.
Meanwhile, people in parts of Western Canada experienced extreme cold for a third day. And another storm rolled into the Maritimes, bringing heavy snow and icy conditions that were expected to last into Monday.
The Eastern Region Ontario Provincial Police were asking people to avoid travel as visibility worsened. Officers were sent to a single-vehicle rollover on Highway 401 east of Kingston, Ont., on Sunday morning, police said on X, adding there were no injuries.
An Ontario Provincial Police spokesperson told CBC News that officers had responded to 37 collisions on OPP-monitored roads in Ottawa since 6 a.m. Sunday, though no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, OPP Central Region asked people to take emergency detour routes in Northumberland County, east of Oshawa, Ont., as the conditions worsened for highway drivers.
In Toronto, Environment Canada on Sunday warned that travel conditions could “rapidly deteriorate” starting Sunday morning, with driving and walking getting more difficult and even dangerous in some areas.
On a snowy Toronto city street, a person tries to walk through a slushy sidewalk. Snow is piled on the curb. Cars wait at a red light
Several dozen flights were cancelled or delayed Sunday morning at Toronto Pearson International Airport amid heavy snowfall.
Toronto Pearson posted on X that the airport had accumulated over 12 centimetres of snow as of 8 a.m. ET on Sunday and was expecting another 15 centimetres by the end of the day.
In Ottawa, dozens of flights were cancelled at Macdonald-Cartier International Airport as the airport said crews were “out in full force dealing with the snow and keeping the runways clear and safe.”
In Quebec, snow began falling Saturday evening and began to intensify early Sunday. Montreal and Quebec City were expected to receive 25 to 40 centimetres of snow on Sunday while areas east of those cities were looking at 30 to 50 centimetres of snow.
Environment Canada said conditions are expected to rapidly deteriorate, adding that accumulating snow and blowing snow could make travel in some areas hazardous.
Transport Quebec urged caution on the roads and to avoid non-essential travel and said the weather was likely to disrupt traffic conditions into Monday.
About 150 flights were cancelled in Montreal and Quebec City, according to airport officials. The vast majority of the cancellations were at Montreal’s Trudeau international airport, affecting mainly domestic flights.
Strong winds and snow are also expected in parts of the Maritime provinces, with strong winds expected to last until Monday in some areas.
CBC P.E.I. meteorologist Jay Scotland said the main concern is potential outages, with freezing rain in the mix. He said the heaviest snow and ice-pellet accumulation will likely fall over western P.E.I., with the latest information showing 10-to-20-plus centimetres possible this evening and overnight.
Environment Canada also issued weather warnings for all three of Prince Edward Island’s counties starting early this evening and continuing into the holiday Monday.
In New Brunswick, 20 to 40 centimetres of snow is expected in the northern half of the province.
Southern New Brunswick and P.E.I. are looking likely to see five to 15 centimetres of snow and ice pellets and then a mix to freezing rain.
Nova Scotia will see snow and ice pellet amounts ranging from nearly five to 10 centimetres, with the highest amounts likely for northeastern areas and Cape Breton.
Most of Western Canada was hit with extremely cold winds late Saturday and Environment Canada said the extreme cold warnings, first reported on Friday, would continue into the week.
The weather service said temperatures were forecast to drop to between -30 C and -50 C in many areas.
Warnings are in place for most of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Sunday and Monday will bring the worst of the cold in the Calgary area, said Eric Van Lochem, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
