SASKATOON – Saskatonians woke up to a bit of a shock Sunday morning. Wind chill values dropped to -50 at 9 a.m. in the city.
Very cold temperatures dropping down to -36 combined with a wind speed of 18 kilometres an hour made it feel so bitterly cold during the hour.
Also Sunday, the city recorded the coldest temperature it has seen in nearly two years as it dropped to a low of -37.6. The last time Saskatoon was so cold was Jan. 17, 2012 when the mercury dipped to -38.3.
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The culprit of this latest cold snap was a frigid arctic airmass that settled over the Prairies. Many other parts of central Saskatchewan saw similar wind chill values Sunday including Lloydminster and Regina, which both felt like -48 Sunday morning.
When air is below freezing and a wind is present, exposed skin will perceive a colder temperature than is actually occurring. The colder temperature that the body feels is called the wind chill.
It is important that humans are aware of wind chill values because extremely cold conditions can cause frostbite, which is the freezing of skin. At extreme wind chill values like those seen Sunday morning, exposed skin can freeze in two to five minutes.
The cold arctic air is expected to stick around through the week but it won’t be as chilly as Sunday. Wind chills are expected to remain in the -30 to -45 range with daytime high temperatures topping out in the minus teens to -20s most days.
For those looking for a reprieve, it appears next week will be the beginning of a mid-month warm-up with above seasonal temperatures expected.
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