Most of Canada has been gripped by snow and cold at the beginning of the new year, with snowstorms dumping much more snow and bringing along much lower temperatures than last year.
The Atlantic provinces are digging out Thursday from the fourth winter storm in a week, with snow piles in some places nearing the bottom of stop signs. The latest storm dumped at least 20 centimeters of snow over southern New Brunswick, northern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but high winds quickly sculpted massive snowdrifts almost 60 centimeters deep, Canadian Press reported from Fredericton, capital of New Brunswick.
The city of Moncton, New Brunswick, has received 165 centimeters of snow this year, more than four times the amount recorded at this time last year.
In Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia, there were only five days in which the port city was free of any snowfall during the month of December.
On the north shore of Prince Edward Island, the winds were gusting Wednesday at over 100 kilometer per hour, prompting the closure of some highways and traffic bridges.
The poor conditions forced the closure of some businesses, universities and colleges and kept flights grounded or delayed for much of Wednesday in Moncton, Charlottetown, Halifax and St. John's.
Meanwhile, residents of Central Canada are still cleaning up in the wake of their New Year's Day encounter with the massive storm. Ontario Provincial Police reported more than 300 accidents Tuesday. Most of the mishaps were single-vehicle accidents on slippery roads.
The city of Toronto remained under an extreme cold weather alert. The high temperature Wednesday was around minus 9, but with wind gusts up to 30 kilometers an hour, it felt more like minus 23.An additional 70 emergency shelter spaces were opened in the city to keep more homeless people out of the cold.
So far Toronto has received 65 centimeters of snow, compared with just two centimeters at this time a year ago.
While Eastern Canada has being grappling with harsh weather, the West was enjoying more seasonable conditions. In usually frigid Edmonton, the sun broke through the clouds Wednesday as outdoor workers and children enjoyed temperatures near zero. Residents of Vancouver experienced drizzle and temperatures hovering around 4.
But scientists said most Canadians can expect more nasty weather before spring. "We're still a long way away from the dead of winter, or the halfway point of winter. There's still more winter ahead of us than behind us," said Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips.
After almost a decade of unusually warm winters and decreasing snowfalls, Environment Canada predicted that Canadians were in fora much more severe winter this year, with most regions facing lower than usual temperatures.
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