WINNIPEG – It was coldest morning Winnipeg has seen heading into the winter.
Winnipeg’s temperatures this morning were as cold as -29.6° this morning at the Winnipeg airport. The Forks only got down to -23.8°. Other notable cold spots in southern Manitoba were Dauphin (-30.7°), Swan River (-31.8°) and Berens River (-34°), which was the coldest place in the province today.
Some records have been broken today that go back to the mid 90s but Winnipeg is not one of them. The record low for November 26th is -32.2° set in 1887.
The frigid temperatures are good news for the Forks.
Paul Jordan, the CEO of The Forks, says the cold weather paired with little snow makes for better ice along the river.
He says snow acts as an insulator so with little on the ground the river can freeze faster.
There is a bad side to the colder temperatures, Jordan said the equipment for making the ice doesn’t work as well.
“It’s a toss up,” he said.
The ice under the canopy is ready for skaters and the paths on the ground should be good to go in a week or two.
Jordan said the river trail likely won’t be ready until closer to Christmas.
“The Assiniboine still has open water between the Forks and Osborne,” Jordan said.
CAA says it brought in extra crews in anticipation of the cold overnight temperatures last night.
The automotive association said it had around 100 calls for service, a jump of 40 per cent over usual.
The highest wait time for service was four hours.
“People might be in denial that winter is here,” said Angele Young, with CAA.
Young said she is anticipating larger call volumes tomorrow morning as well.
She says drivers should plug their vehicles in using a cord that isn’t frayed and make sure to top up the oil and gas.
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