Brace for even cooler temps, wind chills in Saskatchewan

If you thought it was cold out already, brace yourself – it’s about to get even colder.

The weather is expected to turn downright nasty Wednesday following a cold Tuesday across Saskatchewan that saw temperatures in the -30s C and wind chill values in the -40s C.  

Environment Canada issued an extreme cold warning for Saskatoon shortly after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The warnings covered the majority of the province – completely blanketing southern and central Saskatchewan, along with parts of the north.

“We are looking at wind chills getting down to around -45 C, maybe even lower than that,” said John Paul Cragg, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

“We’re looking at very extreme wind chills where exposed skin can freeze in under five minutes. So very dangerous conditions.”

On Wednesday, the temperature in Regina is expected to reach a high somewhere in the range of -16 C, with the added winds bringing in extreme wind chill values of over -42 C.

Cragg said it’s quite unusual to see high wind gusts when combined with cold January temperatures. Normally, cold air involves an area of high pressure and wind doesn’t become a factor.

“We just happen to have a ‘Mackenzie low’ sliding down from the Northwest Territories through Saskatchewan and, accompanying that, very cold air. The combination will make for very dangerous conditions outside,” Cragg added.

According to Environment Canada, a fast-moving weather system will bring milder air into the area Wednesday afternoon and evening, however, it will be accompanied by light and blowing snow.

More extreme cold conditions are likely in the wake of this system on Thursday morning.

Extreme cold warnings are issued when very cold temperatures or wind chill creates an elevated risk to health such as frost bite and hypothermia.