The Great Blizzard of Christmas 2022

[bill937ca]

"Twas the night  before Christmas, when although the land not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.... not even a train. Not only today but yesterday, tonight and maybe tomorrow in the US and along the Via Rail Quebec-Windsor corridor. 

 

In Belleville it rained for almost a full day. Then there was a flash freeze.  it started snowing about noon yesterday. It was forecast at one time than we would get up 140mm os nsow in one day. We currently have a Blizzard warning on the weather forecast. We actually had far less, but there have very strong winds. Right now its more the winds.  Stores here apart from Wal Mart are closed. The main Toronto-Montreal highway is blocked in places.

 

 

Via Rail passengers are or were trapped on trains not too far from here. One train was reported at Napanee east of here and another west of here near Coburg with downed trees. There has also been mention that train crews have reached there maximum hours.

 

Rail passengers trapped as Toronto recovers from winter storm

 

TRAVEL ADVISORY
December 24, 2022: Due to extreme weather conditions and resulting consequences out of our control, significant delays are expected in the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor and various trains have been cancelled.

The following trains were cancelled: 60,50,41,61,62,52,40,65,67,64,42,44,66,46,68,54,45,65,53,47,645,55,69,59.

https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/train-schedules

 

Apologies to Clement Clarke Moore and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Edited December 25, 2022 by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

Just heard a replacement train has arrived in Cobourg replace the stranded train with the tree through windshield.  (3pm December 24th)

Edited December 24, 2022 by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

Another story.

 

 

[tossedman]

And here in Calgary we have a Chinook blowing in. -30°C temperatures all this week rising to -1°C tonight and 5°C by Monday. 

[cteno4]

Only -15c here in dc last night. Luckily we had warmer rain on thrus Friday and it stopped and dried out just enough with heavy winds before the plunge happened Friday so no snow and hardly any ice. Just a cold weekend here for us. Luckily not traveling! 
 

jeff

[Sean]

Woke up to about 10cm of snow here in Nagoya on Christmas Eve. Twenty years in Japan and its my first white Christmas. Kids had a lot of fun making snowmen for the first time.

[bill937ca]

An update from the Globe and Mail (maybe blocked by paywall).

 

"By Saturday evening, Via Rail said in a statement that all passengers on Friday’s trains had reached their final destinations, but that the company was “forced” to cancel all trains on the Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal corridors for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a result of a Canadian National Railway Co. train that had come off its track."

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-via-rail-service-between-toronto-ottawa-and-montreal-cancelled-due-to/