At bus stops, coffee shops, over fences, and in elevators, a comment about typical Canadian weather always brings a smile -although it may be a rueful one. We may smile at the daily fare, but our most severe winter weather is no laughing matter. Storms and excessive cold claim over 100 lives every year in Canada.
Blizzards pose the greatest threat of any Canadian weather phenomenon.
Blizzards are winter storms that come roaring in on a wave of cold Arctic air, bringing blowing snow, low temperatures, and strong winds. While they are most common in the northern Yukon, southern prairies, Atlantic Canada and Nunavut, no region of Canada is completely immune. Across the country, Environment Canada uses different parameters to report and predict severe winter weather, using criteria that are relevant to each region. It doesn't even have to snow to be a blizzard. In fact some of our worst blizzards occurred with very little new snow - just old snow pushed around.