By Michael Baginski/ As up to 30 cm. of snow was dropping my head (and all southern Ontarians) on Thursday, I was reminded of the travel wisdom of a long-ago president of Signature Vacations, who exclaimed: “We’re hoping for a lot of snow – but not so much that people can’t drive to the airport to leave.”
Indeed, travel purveyors have always eagerly looked to the full onset of winter for clarity as much as the grumblings of a groundhog at the end of the season.
That sentiment is surely more keen this winter as Canadians have reportedly cooled to the idea vacationing in the Caribbean thanks to global issues (the U.S. running rampant in Venezuela) and a similar reluctance to board cruises departing from U.S. ports (tariffs/51st state) – issues that have created a domino effect of doubt about the safety certainty of some of America’s southern island neighbours.
But surely a foot of snow is the best remedy to heat up Canadians’ cold hearts. After all, in the face of old man winter, elbows up was always likely to give way to “get us outta here.”
So, as a travel person (though not a shoveller of driveways), I say, “Let it snow!”
Weather alerts
Meanwhile, in case you were wondering about Environment Canada’s new colour-coded warning system, introduced in November, here’s what each of the colour-coded warnings means.
YELLOW
These are the most common alerts, issued when weather could cause damage, disruption or health impacts, but when the impacts are expected to be moderate, localized and short-term.
Environment Canada introduced the system using windstorms as an example.
During a yellow windstorm, there could be effects such as short-term utility outages and risk of injury from falling branches or other debris.
ORANGE
Orange alerts are less common than yellow, and they are intended to communicate when severe weather is likely to result in significant damage, disruption or health impacts. Those impacts can be major, widespread or last a few days.
An orange windstorm, for example, could see widespread utility outages, some roof damage, trees snapping and an increased injury risk.
RED
This is as serious as it gets. A red alert is issued when weather is very dangerous and possibly life-threatening. Impacts have the potential to be extensive, widespread and prolonged. It’s issued only when the impact is expected to be extreme and the forecast confidence is very high.
During a red windstorm warning, there may be a high likelihood of injury from falling debris, widespread and long-lasting power outages, structural damage to homes and buildings, and significant damage to trees, including parks and orchards.
Some historical references to a “red” alert storm include the 1998 ice storm that devastated transmission towers in Ontario and Quebec, or the 2021 atmospheric river that led to severe flooding in British Columbia.
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