Extreme cold warnings continue in Sask., but warm-up on horizon

As the mercury plummets in Saskatchewan, there is some good news.

“In less than 24 hours, we’re going to see a significant warm-up, so (the bitterly cold temperatures) should be gone very, very quickly,” Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said Tuesday afternoon.

But here’s the bad news: Before that warm-up, it’s going to get very, very cold.

Environment Canada expanded its extreme cold warnings Tuesday afternoon; they now cover 29 of the 32 regions into which the weather service breaks the province.

Both Regina and Saskatoon were included in the warnings. According to Environment Canada, wind chills will dip to between -40 C and -45 C across the province.

Lang said those values are “certainly in the dangerous range.”

“Frostbite can set in really quickly at wind chills of -40 or lower … usually five minutes or less,” she said. “That means you can start feeling the effects of that very quickly.

“Any longer than (five minutes), you do have a risk of frostbite. Also, hypothermia can set in very quickly at temperatures and wind chills like that.”

As a result, people are urged to limit the amount of time they stay outside in the coming hours and to take precautions if they must go out.

“If you have to go outside, make sure you dress in layers because it’s air between the layers that actually insulates you and keeps you warm,” Lang said. “Make sure all your extremities are covered — that’s your hands, your head (and) your face — because those are going to be the first ones to be affected.”

According to the Environment Canada advisory, conditions will improve Wednesday afternoon as warmer air moves into the area.