TORONTO, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Cars crashed, power-usage records were shattered and schools closed for a second day as Eastern Canada shivered through more frigid temperatures Thursday.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said in the Toronto area alone more than 600 pileups were reported overnight Wednesday, caused partly by the inability of road salt to melt ice and snow in the extreme low temperatures.
The wind chill made it feel like minus 40 F Thursday in Toronto, which is usually more temperate than the rest of Ontario.
Bitterly cold temperatures helped Quebec set a new record for power consumption Wednesday, and Hydro-Quebec had to import 1,500 megawatts from the United States, Ontario and New Brunswick. It also bought 740 megawatts from aluminum giant Alcan.
On Canada's east coast, plumbers said their phones were ringing off the hook after pipes froze in temperatures as low as minus 50 F.
Most schools were closed for the second day in a row to protect students from possible frostbite and hypothermia.
