Weather warnings issued in 6 provinces and territories

Wintry weather conditions prompted warnings in six provinces and territories early Thursday morning.

Environment Canada issued advisories for areas of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

Individual warnings are in place for dozens of communities, and with forecasters warning of extreme cold, blizzards, snow squalls, potentially damaging wind and heavy rain.

Newfoundland

Conditions expected in Newfoundland and Labrador range from wreckhouse wind in the Channel-Port aux Basques area to rainfall in Burgeo-Ramea. Heavy snow is possible in the area between Red Bay and L’Anse-au Clair.

Special weather statements have been issued for several other areas including St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula. These statements issued for “most of Newfoundland,” as described by Environment Canada, warn of a snowstorm expected to hit Sunday and last until Monday morning.

Here’s a list of all 22 alerts in place in the province as of Thursday morning.

Quebec

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, 23 advisories, watches and warnings were in place in the province of Quebec. 

Some areas are warned that up to 25 centimetres of snow may fall by Friday morning, including in the areas of Grandby, Brome and Mont-Orford. A storm surge warning was issued for Rievere-Pentecote, blizzard conditions are possible in the Ivujivik area, and residents of Chevery are warned of heavy rain expected until Thursday evening.

No alerts or advisories have been issued for Montreal or Quebec city as of Thursday morning, but the Saguenay region and other spots are under a weather advisory about blowing snow.

Ontario

Alerts issued in Ontario Thursday morning were clustered in an area between lakes Huron and Ontario, though several cities including London and much of the Greater Toronto Area were alert-free as of 8 a.m.

Warnings advise of lake effect snow squalls, with possible accumulation of up to 35 centimetres by Friday night. These warnings apply to Barrie, Belleville, Cobourg, Innisfil, Newmarket, Orillia, Wingham-Blyth and others.

While they are not under a more serious warning, several communities are expected to see heavy snowfall at times, according to weather advisories. These advisories were issued Thursday for Bracebridge-Gravenhurst, Burlington-Oakville, Caledon, Goderich, Guelph, Halton Hills-Milton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Orangeville and elsewhere.

A snow squall warning was also issued Thursday for an area including Sault Ste. Marie as well. A total of 30 warnings and advisories are in place as of 8 a.m. Read all the alerts here. 

Nunavut

Just two warnings are in effect in Nunavut as of Thursday morning for the Naujaat and Resolute areas. 

Naujaat’s approximately 1,225 residents are facing “sustained blizzard conditions” including wind gusts of up to 90 km/h.

Environment Canada warned of blowing snow wind chill values near -45 through Thursday and into Friday.

“Travel is expected to be extremely hazardous due to reduced visibility,” the warning read.

In Resolute – one of Canada’s northernmost communities with a population of less than 200, as of 202 – wind chill values were expected to be as cold as -55 Thursday and into Friday morning.

Northwest Territories

Yellowknife is just south of one of three swaths of the Northwest Territories under weather warnings Thursday.

Alerts for the Discovery, McPherson and Wrigley areas warn of “a multi-day episode of very cold wind chills” expected to last until Monday. Forecasters say the wind chill, which could be near -50 at times, is enough that frostbite can develop within minutes.

While there was no warning in place for the territorial capital as of Thursday morning, residents are warned of wind chill values around -45.

Yukon

Residents of the Fort Selkirk area of Yukon are also warned of extreme cold with similar wind chill values. The warning there applies to communities including Dawson, Mayo, Beaver Creek and Old Crow, among others. 

The extreme cold is expected to stick around through Sunday, the forecast says.

No warning is in place for Whitehorse as of Thursday, but wind chill values between -32 and -37 are expected in the capital.