Polar vortex brings more biting cold to ON, QC, another blizzard for Maritimes

The eastern half of Canada is in the grips of the polar vortex again today, with plummeting temperatures, biting wind chills, and yet another blizzard on the way for Atlantic Canada.

The bitter cold that settled down over the prairies on Monday spread over Ontario, Quebec and into the Maritimes overnight. Temperatures plunged into the -20s Celsius, but the cold, dry winds drove conditions to greater extremes. Wind chills dipped to around -30 in cities like Toronto and Montreal, down to -36 in Ottawa, and -40 for Quebec City, prompting widespread warnings from Environment Canada due to the risk of frost bite and hypothermia.

This cold is lingering in Manitoba and northern Ontario as well, where temperatures and wind chills like this are more typical for the winter season. However, these extremes still prompted warnings through regions of northern Ontario, and conditions in Manitoba are still driving wind chills down into the -30s for most of today.

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The chilly, but sunny conditions across the Maritimes today are definitely the calm before the storm, as a blizzard is set to track over Atlantic Canada on Wednesday. Residents of New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia are being spared the brunt of the frigid Arctic air, as the cold in Ontario and Quebec will sweep to the north. However, the gusty winds from the polar vortex will join forces with a storm moving up through the eastern United States to produce the second blizzard the region has seen in the past three weeks.

Weather warnings are in effect for eastern New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia, with the forecast calling for up to 30 centimetres of snow throughout the day. These conditions alone will cause hazardous travel conditions, but with the powerful, gusting winds, anyone who needs to be travelling on Wednesday should expect near-zero visibility on the roads and possible flight delays or cancellations at airports.

(Photo courtesy: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

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