(Nicole Reis/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nicole Reis

Record Breaking Cold

Meadow Lake shatters cold temperature records this week

Jan 16, 2020 | 4:52 PM

Meadow Lake set two records for cold temperatures this week.

Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada told meadowlakeNOW, regional record keeping is the reason for record breaking temperatures.

“Wednesday, the temperature got down to -40.3 C [in Meadow Lake]. That breaks the old record of -39.5 C set in 1979. The period of record is relatively short which is why the records were broken. It only goes back to 1959,” she said.

Lang added this Thursday morning, temperatures dropped to -40.7 C which breaks the old record of – 39.4 C set in 1962.

“Prince Albert saw -42 C overnight this morning but their period of record is much longer so their record was -45 C,” she said.

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The meteorologist went on to say cities with shorter periods of record keeping are those cities seeing temperature records broken.

After the weekend, Meadow Lake may see a slight reprive from the cold weather but Lang said the public won’t be barbecuing quite yet.

“The big dome of Arctic air that’s sitting all over Western Canada from Victoria all the way to Winnipeg and northward, is finally going to get eroded,” Lang said.

“The jetstream is going to shift further north and, the jetstream is the delineator between cold air to the north and the warm air from the south. It’s going to become more westerly instead of south which will allow more seasonal temperatures to make it into most of Saskatchewan.”

Lang cautions the public against using windchill as a gauge for temperature.

“Windchill doesn’t make the temperature colder. Windchill is a measure of how fast the warmth is taken away from your body. So we know the higher the windchill, the faster the warmth will leave your body,” she said.

The environment expert suggests taking necessary precaution during extreme cold by limiting time outdoors, covering extremities and dressing with multiple layers of clothing.

—

nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722