Much of Alberta closed the book on 2017 with some very frigid temperatures and it kept emergency workers busy.
Between Dec. 25, 2017 and Jan. 1, 2018, EMS in Edmonton responded to 40 calls for cold and weather-related issues.
READ MORE: Dangerous deep freeze having impact on Edmonton’s first responders
According to an Alberta Health Services spokesperson, those calls included frostbite, general cold exposure and suspected hypothermia.
Emergency crews also fielded a lot of calls from concerned citizens about vulnerable people who may be underdressed for the conditions or who don’t have adequate access to shelter, AHS said.
To compare, EMS responded to just four environmental exposure-related calls in Edmonton between Dec. 17 and 24.
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READ MORE: Cold temperatures sticking around Edmonton for remainder of week
Friday, Dec. 29 was officially the coldest day of 2017. In Edmonton, temperatures dipped below -30 C for the first time in 2017. Edmonton hit -31 C at around 7 a.m. Before that, the coldest temperature recorded in Edmonton in 2017 was on Boxing Day, when the city hit -28.9 C.
Those temperatures are before the wind chill is factored in. With the wind chill on Friday morning, the temperature in Edmonton felt more like -38.
Wind chill values in other parts of Alberta included -45 in Fort McMurray, -44 in Lloydminster and -36 in Red Deer, according to Global Edmonton meteorologist Tina Simpkin.
READ MORE: Edmonton pipes burst overnight as temperature rises
Overnight Monday, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services responded to 39 incidents of water pipe damage as temperatures rose significantly.
The temperature rose to around -2 C by 4 a.m. after being in the -20s on Monday morning.
Watch below: Fire crews dealt with a number of pipe burst Tuesday morning due to a significant rise in temperature. Kendra Slugoski reports.
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