First -50C in 8 years possible as dangerous cold hits Prairies
An Arctic front will bring snow and cold temperatures to Western Canada for the next several days. Make sure you are properly dressed if going outside for any amount of time, and in some areas, keep the shovels handy and the snowblowers on standby.
A dangerous week is setting up on the Prairies as a piece of the polar vortex allows exceptionally cold air to spill over the region. We could see our first -50°C reading in eight years in the coming days, a testament to the might of this looming cold snap.
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The atmospheric floodgates will swing open Saturday and allow bitterly cold air to spill south over the western half of Canada.
This pattern shift will first arrive with a bout of snow spreading across much of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to kick-start the weekend. Snowfall will linger into Sunday for many areas. B.C. will face another opportunity for accumulating snow on Tuesday.
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However, temperatures will far outshine the snow potential across the Prairies as readings drop to dangerously low levels heading into next week.
Daytime highs will struggle to climb out of the minus-20s for much of Alberta and Saskatchewan throughout the week.
The coldest temperatures are expected by midweek, when folks could endure temperatures dipping below -30°C, and possibly even to -40°C or below in the overnight hours. Any winds will make temperatures feel even colder.
Communities in the valleys of northern Yukon, including Dawson and Mayo, could see temperatures drop to or below -50°C this week. This would be the first reading of -50°C or colder in Canada since February 2014, when Eureka, Nunavut, hit -50.4°C.
Air temperatures this cold will threaten the health and safety of anyone who spends too long outdoors, even folks who are acclimated to the bitter chill. Frostbite on exposed skin can occur in as little as two minutes when temperatures or wind chill values dip to -40 or below.
The extreme cold should relax in time for the Christmas weekend.
Check back for the latest on the impending snow and dangerous cold across Western Canada.
