Much of Canada’s West Coast remained locked in the grip of a bitter cold snap on Sunday even as the rest of the country began experiencing relief from a spate of weekend snow and windstorms.
The systems that brought heavy snow and high winds to much of Central and Atlantic Canada, leaving thousands without power in the process, had largely dissipated by Sunday. And relief seemed in the offing for parts of British Columbia as Environment Canada lifted arctic outflow warnings for the south coast, including the Metro Vancouver area.
Temperatures in Vancouver are forecast to rise Monday and Tuesday, with snowflurries or rain arriving Wednesday and a high of 8 C with rainfall by Friday.
But Environment Canada indicated B.C.’s icy spell is not over just yet, leaving extreme cold and arctic outflow warnings in effect for much of the province’s Interior and north regions.
The national weather agency also said temperatures will warm somewhat in Alberta, but a hazardous frostbite warning remains in effect with highs of around – 21 C forecast for Edmonton and Calgary on Monday. Alberta officials have asked residents to conserve energy during the peak demand period of 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. as the cold snap continues.
Further east, tens of thousands of Ontarians have had their power restored after a winter storm dumped snow and brought high winds across much of the province on Saturday.
But Environment Canada was forecasting more snow for some parts of Ontario on Sunday, with snow squall warnings in effect for areas such as Niagara Falls and Bracebridge.
Meanwhile, weather alerts issued for Atlantic Canada over the weekend have been lifted everywhere except for the western coast of Newfoundland, where residents were warned of potentially damaging winds on Sunday.
The Atlantic region faced powerful blasts of wind and major tidal surges along the coast Saturday. More than 5,000 homes lost power during the storm’s peak, but most of the outages were restored by Sunday.
By Canadian press
