Cold alerts in several provinces warn against spending too much time outdoors
Extreme cold is affecting Central Canada and parts of Eastern Canada, with temperatures feeling like -30 to -45 C with the wind chill.
Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and eastern Newfoundland all have cold alerts in areas.
Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Fredericton were expected to be among the coldest cities over the next two days.
“We’re going to see Ottawa today, the last weekend of Winterlude, the high today -24, the wind chills -33. That’s going to freeze flesh in a matter of minutes, so it’s almost as if it is too extreme to enjoy the outdoors,” said Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.
Environment Canada is reporting wind chill values between -30 and -40 across southern Ontario this morning.
“Some improvement is expected on Sunday as temperatures moderate somewhat,” the agency said in its extreme cold warning for the region.
The coldest wind chill values will be between minus -40 and -45 in northern Ontario.
With the wind chill, it’s feeling like -21 in Halifax , while it’s -11, in St. John’s and other cities in eastern Newfoundland.
Manitoba experienced the worst of the cold front on Friday, its fifth day of extreme lows in temperature and wind chill values of -40 in southern regions, dipping to -45 to -50 in northern areas.
Things should improve slightly on Saturday, with an early morning temperature of around -40 with the wind chill, increasing to -34 by late morning.
Environment Canada blames the extreme cold on an Arctic ridge of high pressure sliding southward toward the U.S. Midwest.
“Some are at greater risk than others for frostbite and hypothermia: homeless people, outdoor workers, people living in homes that are poorly insulated or with no heat or no power, people with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and diseases affecting the blood vessels, people taking certain medications including beta-blockers, winter sport enthusiasts, people who consume excess alcohol, infants, and seniors.” the agency warns.
South of the border in New York City, the blast of Arctic air has forced the cancellation of the city’s annual Central Park Ice Festival.
Source: CBC News