Markham spent Thursday night and Friday under a cold warning as the deepest cold of the winter settled over the Greater Toronto Area, with wind chills that can freeze exposed skin in minutes.
Environment Canada issued the yellow-level warning on Thursday morning, Jan. 29. It covered a wide band of southern Ontario that included Toronto and York Region, along with Peel, Durham and Halton regions. The agency said communities from Windsor through the GTA and north to Tobermory could expect wind chill values of minus 30 to minus 35 overnight.
Cover up. Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill.
— Environment Canada weather alert
Coldest readings of the season
Thursday's forecast high for Toronto was minus 10, well below the seasonal normal of minus 2, with an overnight low near minus 25. At 5 a.m. on Friday, Environment Canada recorded a wind chill of minus 30 at Toronto Pearson International Airport, the first time it has reached that level this winter. The agency said parts of southern Ontario could see wind chills close to minus 40, with places north of the city among the hardest hit.
Friday's forecast called for a high of minus 13, about 11 degrees below the usual high for the end of January, feeling like minus 21 in the afternoon and minus 27 overnight.
The bigger story is how long the cold has lasted. Environment Canada climatologist Dave Phillips said on Thursday that Toronto had gone 11 days without a temperature above freezing. The last time the city saw a daytime high above zero was Jan. 17.
The duration wears you down. We’re clearly living through frigid fatigue. It just absolutely is relentless.
— Dave Phillips, climatologist, Environment Canada
A clear, cold weekend, then some relief
Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder said the weekend should be quiet, if bitter. High pressure is expected to bring sunny skies across southern Ontario on Saturday and Sunday, but overnight lows in the range of minus 15 to minus 20 and daytime highs not much above minus 10. Friday night wind chills were forecast between minus 25 and minus 30 across most of southern Ontario.
Flisfeder said temperatures should climb by Monday or Tuesday to within a few degrees of seasonal norms, which are about minus 2 to minus 5 at this time of year. He cautioned that the milder spell is likely to last only through the work week, with colder air returning by next weekend.
Staying safe
Environment Canada advises watching for colour changes in fingers and toes, pain, numbness, tingling or swelling, and going indoors to warm up if any of those appear. The agency also reminded pet owners that if it is too cold for people to stay outside, it is too cold for animals. CAA urged drivers to make sure their car batteries are in good working order before heading out in the cold.
