Deep freeze makes Quebec feel like High Arctic
Cold temperatures expected to stick around until weekend
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | 1:19 PM ET
CBC News
Montreal city workers on outdoor duty dressed warmly on Wednesday. (CBC) Quebecers are experiencing temperatures colder than those at the North Pole on Wednesday, according to meteorologists who are tracking a dome of frigid air that has settled over the province.
The coldest spot in the province Wednesday morning was La Grande-4 Hydro-Québec generating station east of James Bay, which registered a temperature of –45 C.
"The coldest dome over Canada right now is over northern Quebec," said Pascal Yakovakis, meteorologist with Radio-Canada.
"We can say the meteorological North Pole has moved over Quebec. It's actually colder in northern Quebec than the North Pole."
The average winter temperature for the North Pole is –34 C.
Utility tells customers to turn down thermostat
Warning of record demand on the power supply over the coming days, Hydro-Québec asked Quebecers on Wednesday to do their parts to conserve energy.
Utility spokesperson Hélène Laurin said customers should turn down their thermostats and reduce energy use during peak hours, between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
"If it is possible to use the dishwashers or washers and dryers within different times of the day, of course it will need electricity, but at least we will distribute [the demand] over the day," said Laurin.
Montreal residents clean up after more water mains break
In southern regions of Quebec, the mercury fell 20 degrees between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, with temperatures dipping to the mid –20s in Montreal. It's the warmest temperature the city is expected to experience until the weekend.
The cold caused three underground water mains to snap in the course of several hours, leaving homeowners in the neighbourhoods of Rivières-des-Prairies and Pointe-aux-Trembles with basements full of frigid water.
'It felt like the Titanic.… The bed was floating.'— Joey Foisy, Pointe-aux-Trembles resident
Pointe-aux-Trembles resident Joel Foisy told CBC News that he woke up at 3:20 a.m. to cold water pouring into his basement apartment.
"It felt like the Titanic. There were 36 inches [nearly one metre] of water in the house. The bed was floating," he said.
A few blocks away, resident François Hetu borrowed a submersible pump from the Montreal fire department to remove water from his basement.
"I called the insurance company. I hope everything will be covered," he said.
A third break, just north of Hetu's house, forced the partial shutdown of Gouin Boulevard on Tuesday morning.
The pipes were all more than 50 years old.
Since below-normal temperatures moved into Montreal a week ago, more than a dozen water mains and valves have cracked due to the cold. The Montreal fire department expects the trend will continue.
"It's going to stay like this until spring," said Richard Laporte, the department's chief of operations. "Some days, there won't be any, but some days it will be one or two."
City of Sherbrooke evicts man despite cold weather
In Sherbrooke, police said the cold weather might have escalated a tense situation involving a man who barricaded himself in his minivan.
The city had recently sent the man a court order to vacate his house because of unsanitary conditions.
After the city shut off power to the home on Tuesday, the man moved into his minivan and refused to leave.
He asked the city to let him stay in his home, with heat, until the weather warms up.
The man remained in his vehicle as city officials demolished the buildings on his property on Wednesday.
