GTA Still In Deep Freeze But Misses Massive Storm Hammering U.S.
Posted March 2, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s a bit hard to be grateful for wind chills that feel like the -20s, but there’s reason to welcome the sunshine and the Arctic blast that’s been with us since that major temperature swing late last week. The high pressure system keeping it in place means we’re not getting affected by a disturbance some U.S. forecasters are calling the worst storm of the winter.
The city will remain sunny and dry but very cold on Monday, with a high of only -8C , lows near -17C and bitter north winds gusting up to 50 kilometres an hour that will make it feel even colder.
The GTA remains under an Extreme Cold Weather Alert called on Friday, designed to ramp up services for the homeless. It’s the ninth one so far this year.
And get used to it for a little while longer. Environment Canada predicts colder than normal temperatures for the month, even though spring arrives on March 20 th.
Where are the coldest places in the city?
Most people are simply fed up with the freeze. “The cold, I think we all can do without. We’ve had enough,” shivers Mike Robertson. “We need some warmer weather to come.”
Debbie Tomlinson is experiencing culture shock. “I just arrived here yesterday from the Bahamas, and it’s very difficult,” she laughs.
She may not be happy but at least she can seek shelter sooner than later. Consider those who don’t have that option – like construction workers, who have to stand outdoors and toil, no matter what the weather.
Norman Peres of Costa Construction is wearing eight layers. “We tend to keep busy,” he responds to questions about how he stands it. “Don’t think of the cold.” Easy for him to say – he’s the boss. “I stay in my truck,” he confesses with a laugh.
Another casualty of the cold: water mains, which have been flooding out and freezing all over the city. (That’s one at Consumers Road and Victoria Park. Ave., below.) Experts worry there will be a lot more of them as the temperature fluctuates over the next week.
The norm for March should be 2C and we won’t see that until Thursday, when warmer air finally moves in.
But it could be a lot worse.
Much of the U.S. southeast and northeast has been hammered by a severe storm that could bring at least 30 centimetres (a foot on the old scale) to places like New York City and Boston.
The March howler covers a wide area and hit the most unprepared places first. Georgia and Alabama got up to 12 cm of snow on Sunday, a rare dumping for that part of the country. More than 200 churches in the Bible Belt were forced to cancel morning services as roads turned treacherous.
The system moved up the Eastern Seaboard, gathering even more moisture, and bringing misery to some of the biggest cities. Winter storm warnings were posted from North Carolina to New Hampshire, with 20-35 cm of snow possible, depending on the track.
New York City is bracing for the higher end of that scale, as the city remains under a weather alert for one of the biggest storms in years. There are similar scenes in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington and Rhode Island, as the mammoth storm has snow piling up quickly.
High winds and freezing temperatures are complicating matters, with whiteouts reported in some states.
Hydro is out to more than 80,000 customers in North Carolina, while its southern counterpart has 76,000 without power.
Schools in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Boston were closed, and kids seemed to be the only ones enjoying the weather.
Four deaths are being blamed on the combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain across three states and officials are pleading with drivers to stay off the roads if possible.
Storms that track up the east coast often hit the GTA but this one has thankfully missed us entirely and will head out to the Maritimes by Tuesday. We’ll see solid sunshine instead.
But there is one possible side effect locally. The system has disrupted travel through major American airports, including Atlanta, one of the busiest terminals on the continent.
More than 100 flights were scrubbed out of Boston, and 300 planes were grounded in Newark, leading to a chain reaction of delays elsewhere, including Pearson International.
If you’re planning on catching a flight south, check your flight status here to see if it’s still on.
Photo credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Check the current conditions in your area
Watch the latest updated weather webcast
