Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Cold warnings cover much of the West, chilling even the sturdiest Canadians

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Jan, 2024 04:56 PM
  • Cold warnings cover much of the West, chilling even the sturdiest Canadians

Ski resorts are closed because of extreme cold, teachers are impressing students by instantly freezing boiling water, and it's even too cold for a zoo penguin walk.

Extreme cold has moved over Western Canada from the Arctic, bringing wind chill values approaching -50 to some areas, surprising even residents who know how to deal with cold winters. 

Ben DeKleine, owner of Magel's Cafe in Prince George, B.C., said freezing temperatures there have put his truck, which is usually ready for Canadian winters, out of commission.

"You called me as I'm looking through my F-150's owner's manual, because my truck won't start this morning because it didn't appreciate the cold snap," said DeKleine, who has lived in Prince George for more than a decade.

"I didn't have it plugged in because it just hasn't been cold enough, and now it won't start," he said. "I think it blew a fuse."

Environment Canada said temperatures in Prince George dipped to -29 C Thursday and may drop to as low as -36 C Friday just a week after hovering around the freezing mark.

The forecaster has posted extreme cold or arctic outflow warnings for parts of Yukon and the Northwest Territories, most of B.C. and Saskatchewan and all of Alberta. 

Temperatures in Calgary and Edmonton dipped to -30 C and -31 C respectively Thursday and lows of -38 C are possible there Friday.

The Calgary Zoo said it has cancelled a preview of its outdoor penguin walk due to safety concerns for staff and visitors, and several ski hills have also been disrupted.

Nakiska Ski Area, which is in Kananaskis Country about an hour drive west of Calgary, said on its website that it will be closed Thursday and Friday.

In Banff National Park, where wind chill values were expected to be close to -40, the Banff Sunshine ski resort closed Thursday. Two others, Lake Louise Ski Resort and Mount Norquay, said they are open but operations are reduced.

In Watson Lake, Yukon, where daytime temperatures of -46 C made it the coldest place in Canada on Thursday morning, school principal Ryan Hewgill said he also ran into car trouble.

"I will be honest, my truck did start this morning, but the first time it seemed like it might not,” said Hewgill, principal at Watson Lake Secondary School.

He said other staff members ran into similar issues with their vehicles. 

Yukon residents are more acclimated to cold weather than most, and Thursday was mostly another normal school day in Watson Lake, he said. 

Teachers especially love the cold weather because it allows for classes to conduct boiling-water experiments, where the water is thrown in the air outside and freezes instantaneously, Hewgill said. 

“We acknowledge the cold, but nobody like really focusing on it too much," Hewgill said. "It’s just part of Yukon winter.” 

In Manitoba, some areas are expected to receive up to 20 centimetres of snow Thursday, and roughly a dozen rural school divisions closed schools due to extreme weather and hazardous driving conditions

School was also cancelled Thursday in Hope, B.C., due to "whiteout conditions beyond the scales" according to the district.

Environment Canada's warnings extend into the normally temperate Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria regions. 

It said the combination of gusts reaching 60 kilometres an hour and cold temperatures will push wind chill values in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria to near -20.

The agency warned that temperatures that cold can bring frostbite, and hypothermia can occur within minutes if precautions are not taken when outdoors.

Meteorologist Armel Castellan said he expects some daily temperature records may be broken on the West Coast, but the more concerning issue is the cold snap coming on the heels of an abnormally warm December.

"The fact of the matter is, people and pets and even the ecology out there haven't had time to adapt to the cold," Castellan said.

"So, there's a really strong case to be made about how cold injuries — frostnip, frostbite, potentially hypothermia and even death — are really front of mind when we think about the public through the next few days."

Castellan said in an interview on Thursday that the cold temperatures are "locked in" for the next three to four days, but the weather models have not been conclusive about what follows.

"They don't all agree on how early next week is going to play out, and so those details are just going to have to come in a little bit later."

B.C.'s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said in a statement that all of the province's extreme-weather response shelters are now open. It said more than 5,500 shelter spaces, including permanent, temporary and extreme-weather shelters, are open.

Back in Prince George, DeKleine said he is just happy he is now running a restaurant instead of working in his previous job as a telecommunications technician.

"I've been at the top of the telephone pole with -25 C," he said. "The hardest part of that job was that you can't do most of what we do with gloves on. You have to take those gloves off, and even for five seconds at a time on a pole, you risk frostbite."

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Over 100 arrests made and 29K recovered in retail theft in Victoria

Over 100 arrests made and 29K recovered in retail theft in Victoria
Police in Victoria say officers have made more than 100 arrests and recovered 29-thousand-dollars in stolen merchandise during a recent eight-day retail theft crackdown. Victoria Police say the operation took place from November 27th to December 5th and also resulted in four individuals being arrested multiple times.

Over 100 arrests made and 29K recovered in retail theft in Victoria

Snowfall warning issued for parts of Eastern BC

Snowfall warning issued for parts of Eastern BC
Parts of eastern B-C are under a snowfall warning with some areas forecast to get as much as 15-centimetres today. Environment Canada says the Elk Valley area near Fernie, as well as Highway 3 between Grand Forks and Creston, may get enough snow to hamper visibility in the wake of a cold front in the region.

Snowfall warning issued for parts of Eastern BC

Shooting outside Mission Superstore

Shooting outside Mission Superstore
Mission R-C-M-P say a shooting at a supermarket parking lot has sent one man to hospital with serious injuries. Police say officers responded to a report of shots fired at around 7:30 p-m Wednesday and found a man with multiple gunshot wounds inside a parked vehicle.    

Shooting outside Mission Superstore

Woman dies in crash next to Zoo: Langley RCMP

Woman dies in crash next to Zoo: Langley RCMP
Mounties in Langley are asking for the public’s help with dashcam footage after a woman died after a crash next to the Greater Vancouver Zoo.  R-C-M-P say the initial investigation suggests a driver of a pickup truck stopped in the northbound lane of a street, waiting to turn left.   

Woman dies in crash next to Zoo: Langley RCMP

Key legal document leaked online

Key legal document leaked online
The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General says it is launching an investigation into how a sensitive law enforcement document was leaked on social media. A statement from the ministry says Abbotsford police and the province’s anti-gang agency have become aware of a sensitive law enforcement intelligence document being put on a social media site last month. 

Key legal document leaked online

Amanda Todd's mom urges more jail time for tormentor, as Dutch court mulls sentence

Amanda Todd's mom urges more jail time for tormentor, as Dutch court mulls sentence
The mother of B.C. teenager Amanda Todd, who was bullied into suicide by a Dutch national, says she'll be "so angry" if a court in Amsterdam doesn't give him significant extra jail time on the basis of his Canadian conviction last year. Judges at the Amsterdam District Court said earlier today they would rule in two weeks on the conversion of the 13-year sentence for Aydin Coban, who was convicted of the extortion and harassment of Amanda.

Amanda Todd's mom urges more jail time for tormentor, as Dutch court mulls sentence