A pedestrian walks through a winter storm in Halifax on Monday, December 12, 2016.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
In the face of extremely Canadian weather, the country is buckling down. While the toughest conditions have hit Atlantic Canada – where the Trans-Canada Highway has been closed in places by the RCMP and schools are shutting their doors – the East Coast isn't the only spot being hammered. Severe-weather warnings have been issued in every province plus Nunavut.
"It's a busy day in the weather offices across the country as we're under threat as Canadians are," David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said. "I guess the bit of a shocker is that it's not winter yet. Winter doesn't arrive until Wednesday."
An Arctic air mass that settled over Atlantic Canada on Friday has led to lows of minus-35 with windchill in New Brunswick. Most schools outside Halifax closed down, as did public schools in Prince Edward Island and northern and eastern New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia and PEI are both under three separate weather watches, for snow squalls, snow surges and strong winds. "That's quite rare," Mr. Phillips said. However, he said this weather is a warning of what's coming. "It's like spring training for us in baseball. Just get used to it, practise learning how to drive again, learn how to operate that snow shovel."
Last year's "super" El Nino system meant every region in the country, aside from Newfoundland, experienced the warmest or second-warmest winter in seven decades.
On Thursday afternoon, when an uncharacteristic snow squall lasting several hours hit the Greater Toronto Area, it resulted in congested traffic, transit delays and motor-vehicle collisions. Toronto Police don't yet have firm numbers on how many incidents occurred; they received hundreds of calls but some may have been double- or triple-reporting of the same incident.
Roadways Canada-wide are a mess. RCMP in PEI issued a news release on the temporary shutdown of a portion of the Trans-Canada Highway in Tryon due to snowdrifts. Police on the island were requesting that drivers stay off the road for the time being, citing white-out conditions.
Toronto Police Constable Clint Stibbe, a media officer with traffic services, urged drivers not to assume their snow tires will keep them safe on the roads.
"Winter tires give individuals a false sense of security," he said. While winter tires can address certain road conditions, he said, those conditions can always change.
"There's still one fix-it-all to make your commute safer, and that's [lower] speed." A yet-uncounted number of vehicle collisions on Friday morning occurred after drivers moved too fast and crashed into guardrails. Secondary collisions were piling up after "minor fender-benders" prompted "rubbernecking" and a lack of attention from passing drivers. Several injuries were reported, according to Constable Stibbe. He said that some traffic accidents during this week's snowy conditions in Toronto had resulted in fatalities.
As of Thursday, Toronto Police were urging drivers involved in minor collisions – where cars are still drivable and there doesn't appear to be criminal intent – to move their vehicles off the road and go to a collision reporting centre rather than calling police on the scene.
As snow is forecast to begin again on Friday afternoon and continue into the evening in the Greater Toronto Area – joining the flurries across much of the country – risks increase for Canada's senior population, particularly when shovelling. Last January, an elderly man in Etobicoke died while shovelling his driveway. His death was not an anomaly, with several similar cases, mostly because of heart attacks, reported over the last several years.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends that individuals who have previously had a heart attack, stroke or heart surgery ask someone else to do their shovelling. Other Canadians – especially seniors – should heed these precautions when heading out to clear snow: Don't go out right after eating, or after drinking alcohol. Warm up first and take breaks as needed. If you're feeling tired or dizzy, stop immediately.
Despite the outdoor risks, winter conditions – and their related warnings – aren't wholly escaped indoors.
As Nova Scotia Power's outage map indicated on Friday, an estimated 8,500 residents were without power in the province at 7:30 a.m. local time, mostly in the Cape Breton area. By 11 a.m., that number had grown to around 9,616 affected customers.
Fire departments around the country are issuing reminders to be cautious when using open-flame candles, space heaters and extension cords in response to the cold weather. Toronto Fire Service reminded its followers on social media that any space heaters during the cold spike should be "at least three feet" away from anything with the potential to burn.
Despite all this, Mr. Phillips said that respite isn't far off. By Wednesday – the first official day of winter – temperatures will be on the rise, country-wide.
Edmonton, which has seen three days already under minus-20 degrees, will be nine degrees warmer than usual. Winnipeg will be up six degrees, and both Ottawa and Montreal will be up by two degrees. The trend is expected to continue elsewhere, including in Toronto and Halifax.
"It's not as if we'll be going from the slush to the sweat," Mr. Phillips said. "But, we are going to ease into something that'll be more comfortable as we approach the Christmas season."