Terrible wind chills grip the Prairies
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 5:42 PM -
Frigid, frigid and more frigid.
Just when you thought there was hope for an early spring, the polar vortex has returned to much of the country.
Widespread wind chill warnings were issued for parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba on both Monday and Tuesday.
READY OR NOT: The Polar Vortex is back
Northwest winds, combined with temperatures near the -30°C mark, created extreme wind chill values of -40 Tuesday morning, making it cold enough to cause frostbite in less than 10 minutes.
In parts of southern Manitoba, it could feel like -40 with the wind chill by Wednesday night.
On Monday, school bus service in Saskatchewan was cancelled in some divisions due to the frigid conditions.
The problem was compounded in Saskatoon where the city has been dealing with a handful of water main breaks.
Good grief! -33C at #yeg this morning! 5-10C milder downtown. -40 windchills in both #yxe & #yqr And nearly 20cm of snow fell at #yyj
— Chris Murphy TWN (@chris_m_twn) February 25, 2014
"Despite being frigid, it will stay mainly sunny for the next five says," says Monica Vaswani, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
"There's a possible Chinook set-up for Wednesday, which could bring a short-lived reprieve for southern Alberta. Gusty winds however, will continue across the Prairies on Wednesday, hence the terrible wind chills."
A LOOK AHEAD TO MARCH
"As we head into March, there are numerous signs that we will continue to see below seasonal temperatures from the central Prairies to Atlantic Canada," adds Weather Network meteorologist Doug Gillham in the latest Insider Insight. "To develop a long range forecast such as this, we analyze the global weather pattern and seek to anticipate changes in the pattern with the assistance of numerous long range models."