Snowfall: Warnings are given 12 to 24 hours in advance of hazardous amounts of snow expected over a 12- to 24-hour period. The definition of "hazardous" varies across the country, from five centimetres for parts of southwestern B.C. to 24 centimetres elsewhere.
Windchill: The way your skin feels when low temperatures combine with the effects of wind to blow away the thin layer of warmer air close to your skin. Warning criteria range from –55 C in some Arctic regions to –30 C in southwestern Ontario. Stay indoors. You risk frostbite in less than 10 minutes when the windchill is –40 C.
Winter storm: Involves more than one winter hazard and may include heavy snow, reduced visibility, strong winds and freezing rain.
Winter weather systems
Alberta clipper: A fast-moving (50 to 60 kilometres per hour) low-pressure system that moves from the Prairies to south of the Great Lakes and over the New England states. It brings significant snowfall to southern Ontario and southern Quebec.
Colorado low: Born in the foothills of Colorado's Rockies, this system carries moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to Eastern Canada. It produces big snowfalls, freezing rain and heavy rain.
East coast low: A system that moves up the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and into the Maritimes and eastern Quebec, resulting in snow and freezing rain.
Gulf low: A system from the Gulf of Mexico that tends to move almost due north into southern Ontario, bringing lots of snow, freezing rain or rain.
Weather info
Environment Canada's website is one of the best sources for up-to-the-minute weather news. Weather information is broadcast 24 hours a day across the country. You can receive it over family radio service and general mobile radio service, two way radios intended for short-distance personal communications.
The Weather Network and other private-sector providers also offer weather warnings on television and online, and for a fee you can receive a text message on your cell phone.
Page 6 of 6
