Wind chill near -40 as extreme cold continues to blanket Calgary

Extreme cold warnings continued in Calgary on Monday as chilly temperatures blanket the Prairie provinces. Jodi Hughes has your forecast.

Extremely cold conditions with wind chill values near -40 are expected to continue in the Calgary on Monday morning and evening.

Most of Alberta and Manitoba, all of Saskatchewan and portions of British Columbia and Ontario sat under extreme cold warnings early Monday.

For most locations, the warning threshold of at least -40 for at least two hours was linked to wind chill values, but in some communities the air temperature was close to or colder than -40 C.

In Calgary, the daytime highs on Monday and Tuesday will be around -18 C, or 18 degrees below seasonal, with overnight lows in the mid-minus 20s.

In their warning, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) explained extreme cold puts everyone at risk, however, “Risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors and those without proper shelter.”

The national agency reminds people to dress warmly, in layers, with the outermost layer resistant to wind.

ECCC also notes, “If it’s too cold for you to stay outside, it’s too cold for your pet to stay outside.”

For most of February, a persistent weather pattern has supported a low-riding arctic polar vortex to funnel frigid air across much of the country and areas south of the southern Canadian border.

This was the same source of the dangerously cold conditions over the weekend and on Monday.

This pattern will finally be disrupted by the middle of the week as a ridge of high pressure moves in along the west coast.

When that happens, there will be a dramatic improvement in temperatures, with daytime highs in Calgary getting as warm as 9 C by the end of the weekend.