Five facts about the province’s deep freeze
Dave Deibert has 5 facts that may (or may not) leave you feeling better about the weather.
In Saskatoon on Wednesday, a 112-year-old mark was shattered when the temperature plummeted to -42.5 C. The previous record for Feb. 6 was set in 1907 at -41.7 C.
“I’m impressed,” said Environment Canada’s David Phillips. “We’re talking about more than 25 degrees colder than it should have been.”
Here are five things to know about the deep freeze in which the province currently finds itself ...
1. It could always be worse
In 1947 in Snag, Yukon, it was so cold — -63.9 C — that meteorologists at the area’s weather station submitted the thermometer for inspection to make sure it was working correctly.
In Yakutsk, Russia, temperatures of -41 C this time of year are typical. Located 8,300 kilometres from Moscow, it’s the site of the lowest-ever temperature in an inhabited location: -71.2 C.
Or you could be an Edmonton Oilers season ticket holder. Your team has Connor Mcdavid, the most dynamic player in the sport, yet you’re stuck paying thousands of dollars to watch a team put out a product on a level somewhere between the Ottawa Senators and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
2. Hold on for a few more days
According to Environment Canada, forecasted highs through the weekend are expected to hover between -26 C and -28 C, with overnight lows between -32 C and -39 C. An extreme cold warning for the entire province is expected to stay in place.
Getting it worst of all on Thursday was Key Lake in northern Saskatchewan, where the temperature fell to -45.7 C.
3. A break may come next week
By Monday, forecasted highs of around -15 C in Saskatoon and Regina will at least be closer to the average daytime high of around -9 C.
That “might feel like a tropical heat wave,” Phillips said.
4. Keep your pets inside
The Saskatoon SPCA says it’s been getting calls “in record numbers” about “the irresponsible behaviour of pet owners who are leaving their pets to freeze.”
“In this cold, leaving an animal outside for more than the few minutes they need to toilet exposes these pets to suffering and distress, and is a violation of the Animal Protection Act,” said SPCA executive director Patricia Cameron.
5. Mars was still colder this week — but not by much
The overnight low of -75 C on Monday on the red planet was even chillier than the overnight low of -42.5 C in Saskatoon on Wednesday. But with a high of -6 C that day on Mars, vacationers could almost have packed a picnic and tossed the Frisbee around compared to the high on Wednesday in Saskatoon of -26.8 C.