Extreme cold temperatures across Quebec until Sunday
Posted February 4, 2023 11:58 am.
Last Updated February 4, 2023 4:43 pm.
Quebecers woke up Saturday morning to more extreme cold weather.
The temperature across much of Eastern Canada was expected to feel like minus-40 Celsius to minus-50 C with the wind chill.
Extreme cold warnings remain in effect across the East Coast.
Emergency officials warned people to seek shelter and monitor for frostbite if they had to be outside overnight.
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Temperatures in Quebec City were forecast to fall to -30 C overnight – with a wind chill index of -45 – and the arctic weather was expected to last until Sunday.
Government and private agencies scrambled on Friday to provide shelter for vulnerable people in scores of cities and towns in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, as conditions risked giving exposed skin frostbite in minutes.
The City of Montreal opened two temporary emergency warming centres, each of which can accommodate up to 50 people between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. The centres are to close on Sunday.
Temperatures rose slightly in Ontario and Quebec by early afternoon Saturday, where alerts now only affect northern regions of both provinces.
WATCH: Polar vortex hits Montreal
What some people in Montreal had to say about Saturday’s cold
“With climate change and everything I don’t think I’ve ever lived through this cold.”
“It’s damn cold but I think today it’s just a little bit too much.”
“I feel very cold, so I’m just going to see a movie. I don’t want to be outside. I took the bus and I’m trying to be outside as least as I can.”
“I came yesterday from Norway to Canada. And you know in Norway it’s very cold but I never had the feeling that I have now. It’s more cold here. And you know Norway is a cold country but when I came yesterday here in Montreal I was going to take a bus but I saw a taxi. I said taxi please stop because it’s so cold.”
“It makes me feel alive really because most of the time when it’s cold it’s super shiny, so all that light and fresh air for me, it’s just life. I love it.”
—With files from Brittany Henriques
