Environment

Snowy weather hits Canada, AirCanada cancels flights out of YVR

by amyjudd | December 24, 2008 at 08:21 am

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Canada has been hit by yet another blast of winter weather on this Christmas Eve, affecting travellers nationwide trying to get home for the holidays.

Air Canada has cancelled all short and medium haul flights in and out of Vancouver as the snow continues to fall here.

An unusual barrage of snow in Vancouver, coupled with winter weather across the country, has forced a ripple effect of cancelled or delayed flights - causing heartache and frustration for many Canadians trying to travel at Christmas.

Air Canada cancelled all short-and medium-haul flights to and from Vancouver on Wednesday because of accumulating snow in the region. WestJet also is experiencing some delays and cancellations.

Areas across the country are supposed to get 10 to 15 centimetres of snow, and Environment Canada has issued winter storm warnings across the country.

In Vancouver it is currently snowing, and some areas are expected to get up to 20 cm. In Ottawa, the snow is expected to become freezing rain this afternoon, and may even get as high as 6C this afternoon.

The temperature will skid to -5C overnight as a cold front sweeps across the region, with winds west at 30 km/h, becoming light by Thursday morning. The temperature will remain at a fairly constant -5C Christmas Day.

Friday will see a seasonal -4C following an overnight low of -11C. The day will feature a mix of sun and cloud.

Snow or rain returns on Saturday, with a high of 3C, but Sunday will be sunny with a high of -2C.

About 15 to 20 cm of snow is expected to fall in Toronto, but in some areas, the snow has already turned to rain.
There is travel chaos all across the country today, on this high traffic day; even at Toronto's Pearson airport, one of Canada's busiest, as they are still trying to catch up from the past few days' cancellations.
Flights in and out of Ottawa were delayed or cancelled today, meaning some travellers may not get home before Christmas morning.
At Vancouver's International Airport, travellers are stuck as the snow continues to fall, but as the snow may turn to rain in Vancouver as well this afternoon, the airport is confident that they will be able to move some travellers later in the day.

Kate Donegani, spokeswoman for the Vancouver airport, confirmed they are preparing for the next onslaught of snow and rain.

"Our winter operations team is standing by," she said. "We've got extra crews on call and we're preparing for that additional winter weather."

Hundreds of passengers flying through Vancouver were stranded or suffered delays in their holiday travels plans over the past two days. But Donegani said by late Tuesday, the majority "had been taken care of."

At Edmonton International Airport, flights that were delayed before continue to affect travel, and WestJey is scrambling to put on extra flights to get people home in time for Christmas.
All passengers are asked to check the status of their flights before they leave home, and to do as much as they can from home.

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