Dangerous wind chill levels coming this weekend
Posted December 5, 2013 8:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LOWER MAINLAND (NEWS1130) – Don’t forget the gloves, the toque and scarf! It’s another freezing-cold day in the Lower Mainland.
“Initially, the cold snap was good water cooler fodder; we like to tease about how a temperature of minus-1 sets off all the alarm bells around this part of the world,” says News1130 Meteorologist Russ Lacate. “Now, we really have to change our tone; the weather is expected to trend towards bitter cold conditions and, frankly, dangerous wind chills to begin the weekend.”
“It’ll stay cloudy all of today and the maximum temperatures hitting right around zero. It starts to clear at the end of the afternoon. It really clears off tonight, down to about minus-7 — maybe minus-8 — and the daytime high in the sun tomorrow is minus-2.”
“Looking ahead to Friday night and Saturday morning, that Arctic wind will be howling out from the Fraser Valley. We’ll have lows of minus-10, the wind chill values in Metro Vancouver could be minus-15. In the Valley Saturday morning, minus-20 to minus-25 for windchill — dangerously cold weather.”
Russ notes the temperature will stay below zero all weekend, even with some sun in the forecast.
Fraser Health is out with a reminder to keep an eye on your neighbours, friends and family in these cold temperatures.
Tasleen Juma with the health authority says this time of year is especially tough for seniors and people with mobility issues.
“It’s cold, they are worried about falling and injuring themselves. There’s a real risk of isolation that can lead to depression and other issues. There’s also concern over not getting their medication or not having groceries,” she explains.
She says it’s always a good idea to give them a call or drop in for a visit to make sure everything is okay.
Next time you curse the road construction on your way to work – remember those men and women are braving the cold for longer periods of time.
First-aid officer Brad Marek-Munro says crews have to do more than just “tough it out”.
“Well, you never say ‘man up’, you always say ‘hey, make sure you have a tuque and gloves’ and you educate them. It’s their responsibility to wear proper work attire”
Crews are told to keep their tolerance in check and take shelter indoors if they start to freeze.
Listen for traffic and weather together every ten minutes on the ones. Follow @News1130Weather for up to the minute information.
