The coldest weather so far this winter has arrived. After battling snow and wind for a good part of the week, people in southern Manitoba now have to deal with windchills into the -40's over the course of the next few days. Arctic air has now descended across much of the Prairies, including the Central Plains.
Saturday afternoon, Environment Canada issued its first Extreme Cold Warning of the season for our region.
"An arctic air mass continues to bring dangerously cold temperatures to the region," stated the Warning issued mid-afternoon Saturday. "The extreme cold, combined with winds of 15 to 30 km/h, will result in wind chill values ranging from -40 to -55 at times over the coming days."
Extreme cold warnings are issued when very cold temperatures or wind chill creates an elevated risk to health such as frost bite and hypothermia. With the extreme cold, the Terriers postponed their match in Dauphin Saturday night rather than risk the slippery roads and dangerous conditions.
"The weak disturbance that impacted our region Saturday is slowly moving on," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The flurries will tapered off by late evening, but the breezy conditions are hanging around with air temperatures around -30, meaning wind chill values nearing or past -40."
A mix of sun and cloud is expected Sunday, with winds northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 and a high -24.
"Temperatures will moderate somewhat Monday and Tuesday, but generally below average conditions are expected throughout the week."
