Mother Nature is doing no favors on this freezing January morning, as weather forecasts indicate it is likely one of the coldest days in several years, with felt mercury that could drop to as low as – 42 in some areas.
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Quebec will need to cover up well and plan ahead to face this day, while the majority of regions will drop at least below the felt -30 degree mark.
This cold snap is not unusual, with the second half of January being the coldest time of the year. However, according to Environment Canada, such a low felt mercury was observed in 2014 and 2018, says Simon Legault, meteorologist.
“The temperatures that we are about to experience, even if they are not records, we do not [les a] not often experienced in recent years, he argues. It makes it all hard to live with. “
For the Quebec City region, the temperature felt could drop to -38 in the morning. In Abitibi, forecasts indicate a drop to -40. It is in Chibougamau that the cold should be the most bitter, with a felt mercury that could go down to -45.
In Montreal, it will not be much warmer, while forecasts indicate a low of -36 felt. In Saguenay, these same forecasts indicate a feeling of -32 during the day, and up to -42 at night.
This cold snap will rage for a period of 36 to 48 hours, before giving us only a very brief respite. Wednesday will be a little milder, before the mercury begins to drop again on Thursday, for the return of the intense cold next weekend.
The meteorologist explains that this extremely cold weather is caused by a mass of air coming from the Arctic which descended in the center of the country. After cooling down the center and the west, it’s our turn to taste it.
“But it will be less intense than what the west and the center have experienced,” reassures Mr. Legault. For example, the mercury dropped to -55 ° C felt in Alberta at the end of December.
Boosting and troubleshooting
CAA-Quebec expects to be very busy with service requests. If the number of calls taken has been tripled, customers may still need to be patient.
“The labor shortage is something that affects us too. Of course, the Covid-19 too, while we have people who have had positive results, ”warns Nicolas Ryan, director of public affairs.
However, he ensures that no call will be refused, while emergency fleets, in particular for boosting requests, are planned. “We will use, for example, fleets of taxis,” he says.
An average day at CAA-Quebec is about 2,800 services. On January 3 and 4, when the mercury dropped to -24, the organization responded to 8,500 calls.