The beginning of February is expected to bring Arctic-like temperatures across much of Eastern Canada, thanks to frigid air from the polar vortex.
“I think it will be a real punch in the face for easterners,” Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CTVNews.ca. “It’s going to be pretty short-lived and it’s going to be right across the east.”
The cold snap will descend on Eastern Canada between Thursday night and Friday, with temperatures becoming seasonable again on Sunday. In between, much of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada can expect the coldest days yet this winter.
“We’ll see temperatures that are really, brutally cold,” Phillips said from Toronto. “It’s really a one-and-a-half-day wonder.”
According to Environment Canada, as the cold air tracks east, daytime highs will only reach -13 C in Toronto, -20 in Ottawa, -21 in Montreal and -23 in Quebec City on Friday, and -18 in Fredericton, -15 in Halifax, and -18 in Charlottetown on Saturday.
“It’ll be sunny and bright, because it’s Arctic air,” Philips said. “It’s very dry, and it will be crisp”
Overnight temperatures on Friday night could dip as low as -20 in Toronto, -31 in Ottawa, -30 in Montreal, -34 in Quebec City, -28 in Fredericton, -21 in Halifax, and -23 in Charlottetown – all more or less double what’s normal for this time of year.
“The last time it was that cold in Ottawa was 27 years ago,” Phillips explained. “You can go year after year after year and not see a temperature of -20 in Halifax.”
These temperatures do not factor in wind chill, which could make things feel even icier.
“It’s going to be very punishing,” Phillips said. “It’s clearly an Arctic invasion of frigid air.”
The short-lived and bitter winter blast is being blamed on a weakened polar vortex, which causes icy Arctic air to push south, leading to rapid and sharp temperature drops.
There is a silver lining for those who have been missing out on winter activities.
“The second half of winter, according to our models, seems certainly a little colder, more winter-like, than what we saw at the beginning of the winter,” Phillips said. “But everywhere in Canada, we’re now well the beyond the halfway point. There’s more winter behind us than ahead of us!”
While much of Western Canada has been shivering through the winter, it’s been a different story in the unseasonably mild east. Phillips says December and January in Ottawa, for example, were the third warmest on record in 150 years; and both Ottawa and Montreal have experienced no days below -20 this winter, when normally they would each have about 10. Ottawa’s Rideau Canal Skateway is also still closed when it typically opens in January. Warmer winter temperatures, however, have also brought abundant snow.
“If you’re in the east, it’s looking like winter, but it doesn’t feel like winter,” Phillips said. “But it’s going to feel like winter when the cold arrives.”
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. – Police in New Westminster, B.C., say they have arrested a person suspected of stabbing two people at a Skytrain station in the city.
They say numerous people had called to report a stabbing on Columbia Street, outside the station around 6:45 p.m. on Friday.
Police say officers rushed to the scene and arrested someone matching the suspect’s description.
They say investigators confirmed that two people had been stabbed, one had suffered minor injuries while the second victim was left with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Police say the suspect remains in custody.
Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the incident and have not yet spoken to police to reach out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
CALGARY – All Calgary Public Library locations have been closed due to a cybersecurity breach.
The library posted the news on its website, stating the closures took effect as of 5 p.m. Friday.
The post says that in addition to the closures, all servers and library computer access are being turned off.
No further details on the incident were provided, but the post says the library and its security team are working diligently to determine the scope of the breach and that more information will be provided when it’s available.
Earlier this spring, a hacker demanded ransom money after obtaining data from a server used by libraries throughout British Columbia, but a system manager said the leak was limited and no ransom was paid.
A cybersecurity incident also disrupted Toronto Public Library services late last year, and forensic investigators found the hackers stole the personal information of current and former staff members.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
WHITEHORSE – The Yukon government says its coroner’s service is investigating six suspected toxic drug deaths between Sept. 23 and Oct. 4.
A statement from the health minister says four of the deaths are confirmed as related to toxic drugs, bringing the total number of drug overdoses in the territory this year to 12.
It says an investigation into the other two deaths is expected to be completed in the coming days.
Health Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee says a key concern with the tragic surge of fatalities is the increasing presence of xylazine, a veterinary tranquillizer that has been detected in significant quantities in the deaths.
McPhee says xylazine is not an opioid and is resistant to the opioid-reversing medication naloxone, raising the risks for those using illicit substances.
The Yukon government declared a substance use health emergency in January 2022 in response to a surge in overdose deaths in the territory.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
