‘It’s like molasses’: Extreme cold hugs Saskatchewan

Despite the record-breaking cold weather on Wednesday across Saskatchewan, Thursday is even more frigid.

And Environment Canada advises people to dig in for the long haul.

“I’m looking for some morsel of good news,” senior climatologist David Phillips said. “February is the shortest month. And seasonal temperatures for Regina are highs of -8 C, with lows around -20 C; we’ll still be below normal by seven or 10 degrees, but it won’t be this extreme cold.”

In other words, expect more of the same for the rest of the month, but not quite so bitterly cold, Phillips said.

Extreme cold warnings were issued Thursday morning for every region in the province. With base temperatures well into the -30s and a few communities even dipping past -40 C,

The cold is due to an Arctic high-pressure ridge that’s settled over the province, according to Environment Canada’s daily summary.

“Early morning temperatures are in the -30s with a few localities sneaking past the -40 mark. Even with winds of 5 km/h or 10 km/h, extreme wind chill values of -40 C to -50 C are widespread.”

Thursday marks the sixth-straight day of the deep freeze.

“The problem with the cold it’s like molasses. It just hugs the ground, fills all the nooks and crannies. It’s hard to kick it out,” Phillips said.

The extreme cold warnings come a day after seven cold temperature records were broke, including a 112-year-old record set in Saskatoon in 1907.

The Bridge City was recorded at -42.5 C on Wednesday; the previous record was -41.7 C.

Records also fell in Wynyard, Meadow Lake, Leader, Key Lake, Elbow and Collins Bay.

As of Thursday morning, Key Lake was the coldest spot in Canada, at -45.3 C, two degrees warmer than its record-setting temperature a day prior.

– With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray