Temperatures bottom out across Eastern Canada. Here's how cold it got
The cold temperatures broke new daily low records in parts of Atlantic Canada and Ontario, even setting off frost quakes in the GTA Thursday night
This week Eastern Canada experienced a glimpse of bitterly cold temperatures that were seen across the Prairies for an extended period of time in January. They weren't low enough to break widespread records, but at least two were set -- one in Ontario and the other in New Brunswick.
SEE ALSO: Did you hear it? Frost quakes rumble through southern Ontario
"This past Valentine's Day, most of Eastern Canada experienced some of its coldest weather thus far this winter. Sudbury, Toronto, Ottawa and Quebec City all recorded temperatures -20°C to -30°C or colder on Friday morning," said Weather Network meterologist Nadine Hinds-Powell.
"Extreme cold warnings posted by ECCC (Environment Canada) blanketed the region. Thankfully, those have been lifted as temperatures have begun to moderate."
COLD SNAP CAUSES FROST QUAKES IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO
In parts of southern Ontario, temperatures on Thursday night and early Friday morning were cold enough to cause 'frost quakes,' a rare phenomenon known as cryoseism. People took to Twitter to report booming sounds and ground shaking in the Toronto area.
"Cryoseism is a special form of seismic event (ie: earthquake), not caused by moving tectonic plates, but instead, it is a result of the sudden onset of extreme cold," explains Weather Network meteorologist Scott Sutherland.
RECORDS SET
On Friday, a new daily low record was set in Kitchener-Waterloo, where temperatures fell to -27.3°C, surpassing the previous low of -26.8°C that was reached in 2016.
Temperatures have been dangerously cold in the Atlantic provinces, as well, particularly in New Brunswick, where a new record daily low was set in Edmundston Friday. The city hit -36°C, breaking the old record of -35°C that was set in 1929.
"Atlantic Canada, however, are still in the grips of the cold. Much like Ontario and Quebec, its temperatures, too, will rebound by the end of the weekend," adds Hinds-Powell.
