The Ice Storm of 1998

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Topic spans: 1998 - 1998

Canadians had never before endured a natural disaster like the ice storm of 1998. A difficult morning of car scraping quickly turned into a state of emergency from eastern Ontario to southern Quebec. Millions huddled in the dark by their fireplaces. Many suffered from hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. Heavy ice sheets toppled huge power pylons and in just six days an electrical system that took decades to create was razed.

Image of pedestrians walking past downed trees in Montreal by Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press.

11 television clips

6 radio clips

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it is not cool

Submitted by: willbeard

A January thaw

Broadcast Date: Jan. 5, 1998

On Jan. 5, 1998, Montrealers wake up with windshields sheathed in ice and sidewalks like skating rinks. During the night, plummeting temperatures turned the January rain to freezing. Environment Canada warns that ice pellets and more freezing rain are on the way for southwest Quebec. It's -8 C but the forecast says it will warm up substantially.

On CBC Montreal's morning radio show, the weatherperson predicts a January thaw, lasting two or three days. Host Dave Bronstetter is looking forward to the milder weather.

A January thaw

• Freezing rain forms a veneer of slippery ice when it hits colder surfaces, such as car windshields, power lines and sidewalks.
• On the first day, forecasters didn't realize an ice storm was on the way. In general, meteorologists have difficulty accurately forecasting freezing rain because for precipitation to freeze, conditions must be perfect — a layer of air above 0 C, wedged between layers of air below 0 C.
• The ice storm lasted from Jan. 5 to 10, 1998.

A January thaw

Medium: Radio

Program: Daybreak

Broadcast Date: Jan. 5, 1998

Guest(s):

Host: Dave Bronstetter
Reporter: Bill Horrocks

Duration: 2:35

Last updated:
July 30, 2009

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