Niagara’s low temperatures ‘ pretty brutal’
December has been about two degrees colder than normal.
And with three bitterly cold days left this month, that average could dip even lower.
David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said the average temperature this December, up to Thursday, was about – 4.4 C — the normal is about – 2.3 C.
According to Environment Canada, Thursday’s high in Niagara was – 11 C ( with – 24 C windchill), and is forecast to reach highs of – 7 C today and Saturday, – 13 C Sunday, – 10 C Monday, – 6 C Tuesday and – 5 C Wednesday.
“It’s pretty brutal. It may not be until the second week of January before we see something that would be maybe normal,” said Phillips.
“All we can hope for is normal. We’re a dozen degrees colder than it should be for this time of the year.”
He said Niagara has seen 55 centimetres of snow in December — the normal is about 35 centimetres.
“It’s been snowy, the snow has stayed on the ground, it’s been cold, and it’s just too bad that the cold air, it’s not like the warm air ( where) you could say, ‘ Well, it’s melting today, but look out for tomorrow, it’s going to be freezing.’ The cold is very persistent — at this time of the year, it’s very thick and very heavy, very dense, it just stays its course, and it’s hard to kick it out.”
Despite the face- numbing temperatures, as of Thursday Niagara’s public health department had not yet declared an extreme cold alert this winter.
Siobhan Kearns, director of environmental health, said the temperature must drop below – 15 C, not including wind chill, before the health department issues a cold weather alert.
“We haven’t reached the threshold,” said Kearns.
She said Niagara Region looks at the temperature for St. Catharines as reported by Environment Canada to determine whether an alert needs to be issued for the entire region.
Bill Willard, vice- president of the Canadian Automobile Association Niagara, said CAA has been very busy responding to cold- weather calls and has experienced increased call volume. He said Wednesday’s call volume was “our biggest yet of the year.”
Willard said CAA received 201 calls on Christmas Day, about 500 calls on Boxing Day, and 725 calls on Wednesday because of vehicle issues resulting from cold weather. He said most callers needed either a battery boost or battery replacement, but some vehicles also required a tow.
“I think it’s just because this is the first real cold snap we’ve had, anything that’s been on the borderline weak side, this is where it’s showing up.”
He said many batteries that are four to five years old have had to be replaced.
Niagara Regional Police said their call volume has also increased in recent days.
“We have certainly experienced steady call volume other the last couple of days, but we don’t really have a way of tracking if people are calling us due to the cold,” said media relations officer Stephanie Sabourin.
The health department’s Kearns said only one cold weather alert was issued for Niagara in 2016, while there were seven alerts in 2015, and six alerts in 2014.
Kearns said the Region has a very comprehensive email list to let people know when a cold weather alert is issued. On the list are all the municipalities, the mayors, and community care facilities.
“We do monitor throughout the day and in the event something comes up, we send out to the copious number of people on our email distribution list, as well as we’ll put things on Twitter and we’ll put things on the web,” Kearns said.
The Region’s website recommends residents stay indoors when possible during cold weather events and to dress appropriately when going outside, including wearing a hat, covering exposed skin and dressing in layers.