Quebec and Ontario usually get snow in winter. But when temperatures go up, precipitation can fall as freezing rain which must be chipped off cars.

Quebec and Ontario usually get snow in winter. But when temperatures go up, precipitation can fall as freezing rain which must be chipped off cars.
Photo Credit: Radio-Canada

Strong El Nino may bring ice storms

Eastern Canadians may be disheartened to learn that a very strong El Nino cycle may bring a warmer winter, and could also set the stage for nasty ice storms like that of 1998. The cycle is driven by warm water temperatures in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and is associated with droughts, floods, and storms.

This El Nino is already strong and the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says it is expected to be biggest in more than 15 years. It would be second only to the one that hit at the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998.

In January 1998, several days of freezing rain created thick ice toppling trees, power lines, and making many roads impassable.
In January 1998, several days of freezing rain created thick ice toppling trees, power lines, and making many roads impassable. © CBC

1998 ice storm was a natural disaster

January 1998, there was a week of freezing rain that paralysed parts of the provinces of Quebec and Ontario knocking out electricity to millions of people for days and, in some cases, weeks. Some people lit fires to try to stay warm and suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Others got hypothermia. Many had to leave their homes.

Massive sheets of accumulated ice slid off buildings and toppled huge power pylons. The storm was considered to be a natural disaster.

Utility crews could not keep up with calls to repair power lines downed and damaged by ice in 1998.
Utility crews could not keep up with calls to repair power lines downed and damaged by ice in 1998. © CBC

Heat waves, floods, hurricanes predicted

Calling this uncharted territory, WMO head Michael Jarraud says the combination of this El Nino and human-induced climate change may interact in unprecedented ways.

Global temperatures have already reached new records. Heat waves could be hotter and happen more often. There could be more category 4 and 5 hurricanes and rising sea levels mean storm surges may go further and cause more damage, he warns.

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