An unusual bout of warm winter weather turned snow into freezing rain Monday in western Canada, coating much of Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces in ice, snapping power lines and halting travelFederal police described the storm as one of the worst to strike the region in decades, with hundreds of vehicles sliding off slick roads.
"We've had emergency vehicles in the ditch, we had a fire truck in the ditch, and even one of the highway sanders was in the ditch," Corporal Larry Dahlman of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told public broadcaster CBC.
"It basically looks like a used car lot."
No injuries were reported though.
The RCMP closed a major highway between the two provinces, and another between Winnipeg and the US border, and they warned drivers to stay home for fear police or ambulances may not be able to reach them in an accident.
Most schools were also closed and several towns reported power outages
In Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, the zoo shuttered its animal enclosures and organizers of a winter festival were said to be fretting about snow sculptures melting away.
The "extreme freezing rain" caused dozens of flights at the Winnipeg international airport to be cancelled or delayed. "We had to use tugs to push and pull aircraft off taxiways," spokeswoman Christine Alongi told AFP.
City crews also abandoned most outdoor jobs because they could not get a foothold on icy sidewalks.
According to Environment Canada, temperatures in the region are usually below minus 10 to 20 degrees Celsius (14 to -4 Fahrenheit) in February, but were instead hovering around freezing (0 Celsius, 32 Fahrenheit).
Meteorologist Bob Cormier blamed two warm fronts from the Pacific Ocean and Colorado colliding over Canada's vast western plains as they tracked eastward.
"It's very unusual," he told AFP. "Usually when we get freezing rain it's limited to an hour or two, and ahead of a snowstorm. But this was prolonged."
"On average, we're seeing warmer winters and we can expect a higher probability of more freezing rain in the Prairies," he added, noting "the bulk of global warming in Canada is being felt in the Prairies region and the North."
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The Monday Workout: I jumped on the bike at 7 pm after sitting for 8-hour with mixed feeling. On the one hand I was looking forward to getting off my duff and stretching my legs. However, I was not so keen on getting off the bike at midnight. Sometimes you just have to suck it up (or so I told myself), and time is very limited these days so I really have to take it when I can get it. I loaded up on bananas, H20, and cranked the tunes. 90-minutes later I was deep into my Base training trance when, unfortunately, I heard that tell tale sound. Ssssssssssssss… WTF another flat. Something’s are just not meant to be.
Total Time: 90-minutes, out of the saddle, base, one flat and at least some relief.
Total Time: 90-minutes, out of the saddle, base, one flat and at least some relief.
Better flatting now than in summer.
ReplyDeleteI have been doing icy stairs for 2 days now... I think I could grip a banana with my toes, since that is what it feels like out there. Think of me, when you think the weather sucks... and then laugh.