School bus cancellations pour in most mornings and children are kept inside for recess as the bone-chilling blast of winter continues in Saskatchewan.
Extreme cold warnings have been extended across parts of the province. In Saskatoon, the cold snap is one of the longest – we’ve seen in half a century.
“We looked at temperatures that haven’t exceeded -20 C so we’re on day 13,” Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said.
“The last time that happened was 1969 so we know that it doesn’t happen very often. We’re not breaking a lot of records in terms of the daily records but in terms of how long this cold streak is going, it’s a pretty long one.”
In the Bridge City, the 30-year average this time of year is a high of -6 C and an overnight low of -15 C.
When it comes to temperatures on Valentine’s Day, the record high was set in 1931 at a balmy 8.3 C; compare that to the record low in 1936 at a chilly -45 C for a range of 53.3 degrees.
It’s something people on the Prairies should be used to but that doesn’t stop many from complaining as the brace themselves every day for more of the bitter cold.
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Jay Brown, 29, decided instead of running away from winter to run right into the icy arctic air. Four days a week, no matter the temperature, he tries to hit up different trails and explore what our four-season city has to offer.
I’m not special, I’m not posting running times that are going to get me into the Olympics or anything like that,” he laughed.
“I go out because I need to exercise and it helps me enjoy winter.”
Anything you can do in the summer, Brown says he’s done in the winter including camping and the bonus – there are no bugs!
He is now challenging more people to step outside and said once you get moving you’d be surprised just how hot you can get in cold conditions.
“Every time I finish a run in the winter time, I’m coming back sweaty – I’m not shivering cold,” Brown said.
You never know, you might warm to winter by giving a few activities a try.
“We’re lucky enough to have four distinct seasons, there’s something we can do in each one of them,” Brown said.
“Let’s not write off one of them just because we feel like it’s easy to.”
As for those of you wondering when things will warm up even just a touch, Environment Canada predicts that things will stay the same with seasonal norms nowhere in the forecast at least for the next 10 days.
For the latest conditions and warnings, download the SkyTracker weather app.
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