Record-breaking cold snap for Eastern Canada, warmer today
A cold snap that triggered Environment Canada alerts involving eight provinces and territories extended into a second day on Saturday, shattering several past temperature records and leaving thousands of customers in Atlantic Canada without power.
A massive Arctic air system that blanketed much of the country on Friday previously prompted the weather agency to issued extreme cold alerts for six provinces spanning Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as some communities in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The bulk of the alerts remained in place on Saturday, though they had been lifted for southern regions of Quebec and Ontario as temperatures were forecasted to rise in those areas.
Environment Canada meteorologist Darin Borgel said the persistent, frigid temperatures and wind chill values are “unprecedented” for the region.
“This has been an absolutely record-breaking cold snap for all of Eastern Canada,” Borgel said, noting temperatures feel like -40 C to -50 C in some areas
Borgel said the cold snap was brought on by an immense Arctic air mass that he expects will pass by this afternoon.
The freezing temperatures and accompanying winds also prompted widespread power outages in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia Power at one point had more than 25,000 customers in the dark, though that number had fallen below 13,000 by early Saturday afternoon.
Matt Drover, a senior director with the utility, said in an email that frigid temperatures can damage equipment and “trip protective devices” which can cause power outages.
He said power restoration work began early Saturday morning and it was expected residents will have electricity restored by the end of the day.
More than 6,000 people were without power in New Brunswick Saturday afternoon. In P.E.I., service was restored for all but 350 of the 2,300 customers who were without power at the peak of the outages.
Borgel said while Arctic air masses trigger cold snaps throughout the Canadian winter, this one stands out due to its brevity and severity.
“This is one of the coldest we have seen in a long time,” Borgel said.
Fortunately, he said, it’s also expected to be short-lived. While some cold snaps can extend for days, Borgel forecast temperatures would start to rise in most areas by today.
Friday saw five New Brunswick communities break records for coldest temperatures ever tracked on Feb. 3, according to Environment Canada.
In Moncton, temperatures dropped to -28.1 C, which broke a 1917 cold weather record of -27.8 C for that date. The communities of Grand Manan, Miscou Island, Saint John and St. Stephen also saw records fall.
When factoring in the wind chill, Borgel said conditions in some parts of New Brunswick felt like -40 C, while areas in the northern part of the province experienced winds that made it feel like -50 C.
“This is quite unprecedented,” Borgel said.