DAVIDSON—”An arctic high pressure ridge has settled in over Saskatchewan,” was the opening line of Environment Canada’s extreme cold warning issued last Thursday for Saskatchewan.
The entire province was included in the special weather alert, including this region of south central Saskatchewan.
Temperatures under this ridge were very cold with early morning in the mid-to-low minus 30s with a few localities sneaking past the -40 mark. Even with winds of five or 10 kilometres per hour, extreme wind chill values of -40 to -50 were widespread, according to Environment Canada.
Environment Canada warned people of the risk posed by the extreme cold including frostbite and hypothermia.
People were advised to keep emergency supplies in vehicles such as extra blankets and jumper cables.
Last Wednesday’s cold temperatures set new records. Elbow’s -36.1 set a new extreme cold temperature record, according to Environment Canada. At -41.7° Celsius, Feb. 6, 2019 marked the coldest day on record in Saskatoon on a Feb. 6 in more than 100 years. The last time it was that cold on that day was in 1907.
