A week of extreme cold, after record-breaking January heat

Reeti Meenakshi Rohilla - Staff Writer 

An Extreme Cold Warning was in effect last week in the Sioux Lookout area and throughout Northwestern Ontario.

A Warning Preparedness Meteorologist with Environment Canada, Geoff Coulson, said that we had days with much colder than normal temperatures last week.

As of Feb. 11, despite the deep freeze, Sioux Lookout did not set any temperature records.

Operational Meteorologist at Environment Canada, Katrina Eyk, shared how temperatures witnessed last week compared to historical records.

She said that the lowest temperature recorded on February 6 was –29.5°C with a historical record for that day of  –39.4°C from 1967. February 7 witnessed –32.5°C with a historical low of –42.2°C in 1933. February 8 was –34.5°C with past record of –45.6°C in 1933. February 9 was –30.5°C with –40°C seen in 1933 and February 10 dropped to –35°C with a known historical low of –45.6°C from 1914. 

Eyk said that so far, the morning of February 11 was the coldest day of this winter in Sioux Lookout at –37.1°C. She added that historically, the coldest temperature to be recorded locally on that date was –46.1°C in 1914. 

Coulson shared, “When we look at normal low temperatures for this time of the year for Sioux Lookout, the normal low is –20°C. So even thought it is not record breaking, these temperatures are much colder than normal.”

The coldest temperature recorded for the month of January was –34.3°C, while –29.1°C was the coldest temperature recorded in December. 

Coulson said of last week’s cold snap, “This has been a weather pattern affecting pretty much all of the Prairie Provinces, all of Ontario, and when we look at the temperature map, much colder than normal air has gone all the way down to Oklahoma and Texas in the United States. Not the same level of cold that we’re obviously experiencing in northern Ontario. But relative to them, this cold air has influenced a good part of the United States as well.”

Coulson said that the normal high for this time of the year in Sioux Lookout is –8°C, with an overnight low of –20°C. He added, “We are expecting to see a moderation in temperature. It’s certainly not going to be warm by any stretch of the imagination.” He added that more seasonal temperatures for the month are expected, starting this week.