Adedokun Waliyu 
Much of Canada spent Saturday either shivering in frigid temperatures or digging out of a messy winter storm as weather warnings remain in place from the West Coast to the Maritimes.
Wind chill values in some parts of British Columbia and the Prairies have been hovering between -30 and -50 C and are not expected to let up until late Sunday or Monday. Environment Canada is warning that arctic air, combined with strong winds, can lead to frostbite and hypothermia “within minutes” if people don’t take proper precautions while outdoors.
Further east, a winter storm dumped up to 30 centimetres of snow in some parts of Ontario overnight, causing hazardous road conditions and flight cancellations at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
A power outage map on the website of electricity provider Hydro One showed approximately 22,000 customers were without electricity across Ontario as of early Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t clear if all localized outages were weather-related, but the company said its crews are working to fix damage caused by high winds.
Much of Quebec was also under snowfall or winter storm warnings on Saturday As the storm moved across the province. Forecasts called for between 15 and 40 centimetres of snow in regions along and north of the St. Lawrence River.
Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault said that while areas south of the river were mostly seeing wet snow and rain, snow was already piling up in the swath of the province between Quebec City, Montreal and the Outaouais region north of Ottawa.
Legault said blowing snow and low visibility due to high winds were a concern in many areas of the province. Further east, high winds prompted storm surge warnings in riverside regions ahead of high tide Saturday afternoon.
Hydro-Quebec said about 4,700 customers across the province were without power as of early Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, parts of Atlantic Canada are facing powerful blasts of wind and tidal surges along coastal areas as the storm moves through the region.
Northern New Brunswick is expecting 15 to 20 centimetres of snow, but the warm air associated with the system means most of the East Coast will see the snow turn to rainfall in the afternoon and overnight.
Environment Canada forecaster Jean-Marc Couturier said wind gusts of between 90 and 100 kilometres per hour are expected along the province’s southwestern coast as the storm moves up the Bay of Fundy.
Wind warnings for gusts over 80 km/h are also in effect for all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and parts of western Newfoundland.
