Winter storm in Eastern Canada
A late winter storm dropped hail, freezing rain and several inches of snow on Canada’s capital and nearby cities on Wednesday, slowing traffic and forcing flight cancellations.
Central and Eastern Canada experienced freezing drizzle, snow and ice pellets, as the severe storm centred over New England worked its way into the Maritimes. Environment Canada issued a series of winter storm warnings. The weather system left the eastern part of the country covered in a layer of ice and Ontario and Quebec were digging out of a massive dump of snow.
The environment ministry said 5 to 20 cms (2 to 8 inches) of snow were expected in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal by the end of the day. Flight delays and cancellations have already been reported in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and other cities.
Snowfall this season has been abundant. In Montreal, 2.9 meters (9.5 feet) has fallen. The record in 1970-1971 was 3.8 meters (12.5 feet).
Canada’s ‘winter from hell’ is nasty, brutish and will not be short, according to a senior climatologist at Environment Canada who said spring is still a distant dream for most of the country.
