News
Deep freeze sweeps Canada and the USA by Darren Bett
Sub-zero temperatures fuelled by cold arctic air have swept across central and eastern parts of Canada.
The deep freeze is sweeping across Canada from Saskatchewan through to the east coast and is now spilling down into northern and northeastern parts of the USA.
The coldest weather has been recorded around the Winnipeg area, where temperatures on Tuesday night fell to -36C (-33F) with wind chills of
-50C (-58F). Regina in Saskatchewan recorded temperatures of -33C (-27F) on Wednesday morning with wind chill factors of -43C (-45F).
The current severe chill comes after one of the coldest Decembers for 26 years in Saskatchewan and the coldest in Manitoba for nearly ten years. Forecasters expect the cold to continue, especially across the east, with Quebec likely to see temperatures falling well below -20C (-4F) through this weekend.
Meanwhile further south across the border, another winter storm in the Midwest USA has left more than 20cm (8 inches) of snow in parts of Indiana and Illinois. The storm will spread east to affect New York and Pennsylvania throughout Thursday with up to 15cm (6 inches) of snow expected here.
As the storm continues to pull away east, arctic air from Canada will plummet south behind the storm system into the Midwest, and is expected to bring the lowest temperatures so far this winter across northeast USA by Friday.
