US and Canada hit by winter storm, thousands of flights cancelled
Eva Deschamps / January 18, 2022
The eastern United States and Canada were still undergoing a major winter storm on Monday, with heavy snowfall leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights, and placing some Canadian provinces under a blizzard warning.
Many of the 120,000 U.S. homes that experienced a power outage Monday afternoon had power restored by Monday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.
More than 1,700 domestic and international flights were canceled Monday night, in addition to the 3,000 from the previous day, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
Large areas of the provinces of Quebec and Ontario in Canada have been placed on blizzard alert according to the Canadian government's weather information site.
In Toronto, up to 60 cm of snow is expected, tweeted Anthony Farnell, chief meteorologist for the Canadian television station Global News.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has triggered an emergency rule allowing him to prevent cars from parking in certain areas while snow is being cleared, according to a statement on the city's website.
Many schools have closed in Quebec and southern Ontario, including the Toronto area.
The five vaccination clinics run by the city of nearly three million people also suspended operations for the day.
In the neighboring United States, the major winter storm that has been plaguing the eastern third of the country will slowly taper off today, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a tweet Monday morning.
However, major effects from snow, ice, wind, and coastal flooding will persist across a wide area, the NWS continued.
The winter storm warning remains in effect across seven states, from North Carolina in the southeast to Maine in the far northeast.