Record -42.5 cold comfort in Saskatoon

SASKATOON — Saskatchewan’s record-smashing cold has caught the attention of a senior climatologist at Environment Canada.

David Phillips said it’s tough to break records when temperature statistics date back to the 1880s, but that’s exactly what happened in Saskatoon on Wednesday.

The city shattered a 112-yearold cold mark when the temperature plummeted to -42.5 C. The previous record for Feb. 6 was set in 1907 at -41.7 C.

The normal temperature is -17 C.

“I’m impressed,” said Phillips. “We’re talking about more than 25 degrees colder than it should have been.”

An extreme cold warning continued for the entire province Thursday and was expected to last through the week. The high in Saskatoon Thursday was a relatively balmy -26, but an overnight low was supposed to bottom out at -41.

Environment Canada warned that extreme wind chill values of -40 to -50 were expected again through this morning in most of southern and central Saskatchewan, courtesy of an arctic high-pressure ridge that has settled in over the area.

The agency issues such warnings when people are at a higher risk of developing frostbite or hypothermia by being outside.

Phillips said the northern Saskatchewan community of Key Lake was the coldest place in Canada on Thursday morning as residents woke up to a bonechilling -45.7 C.

As to when the deep freeze will end, Phillips said highs in Regina next week are forecast to hover around -15 C.