The snow was on its way out of the Prairie region Monday evening, but the extreme cold was going nowhere, and is expected to remain a hazard all week. The worst of it spreads of Saskatchewan Tuesday, with daytime highs around -30°C but feeling down to -40 with the wind chill. More details on this deep freeze, below.
TUESDAY AND BEYOND: INTENSE COLD SLIDES EAST ACROSS THE PRAIRIES
After a burst of snow, much of the Prairies ended the day Monday still under an extreme cold warning, with temperatures still down past -40°C for some areas, feeling closer to -50 with the wind chill.
To give a bit of perspective on how extremely cold the Prairies are just now, consider Grand Prairie marked a temperature of -44.4°C on Monday. That was, in fact, colder than parts of the high Arctic, and it wasn’t even close: Alert, on the northern shore of Ellesmere Island and the northern-most populated place in the world, made it to -30.3°C Monday, around 14 degrees warmer than Grand Prairie.
The deepest reservoir of cold air will slide into Saskatchewan by Tuesday, spreading high temperatures around -30°C to Prince Albert and Saskatoon.
Frigid temperatures will push into Manitoba on Tuesday, as well, with high temperatures plummeting into the -20s for Winnipeg for the remainder of the week.
Nighttime lows will dip into the middle -30s, with wind chill values pushing -40 or even lower.
Temperatures will warm slightly in Alberta, but it’s all relative when Calgary’s warmest high temperature this week will be a balmy -16°C on Thursday afternoon.
Extreme cold will remain a hazard all week. Significantly below-seasonal temperatures will persist on the Prairies into the beginning of January.
Thumbnail courtesy Getty.
Check back for the latest on the dangerously cold air spilling over the Prairies.