Special weather statement prompted by cold forecast for P.E.I.
CBC
Environment Canada is cautioning Islanders about what could be the coldest night in decades on Friday.
The agency has issued a special weather statement.
The forecast is for the temperature to drop to -24 C overnight Friday. In addition, strong northwest winds will make it seem colder, with a predicted windchill as low as -40 C.
CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said Islanders will start to feel that cold air coming down from the arctic during the day on Friday, with the wind turning to come out of the northwest around noon.
"The morning will start off around -1, but in the afternoon our temperatures are going to fall back around -15. That's quite the dramatic fall," said Simpkin.
That rapid drop in the temperature could create some icy patches on roads, she said.
The temperature measured at Charlottetown Airport, since 2017, will typically drop below -20 C once or twice in each of the winter months, but in the last six years the temperature never quite hit -24 C. On Feb 12, 2017 it almost got there, dipping to -23.9 C. The last time a wind child below -40 C was measured was in 2004.
The unusually warm January, 6.6 C above normal, could make this cold snap feel that much colder. January was the 18th consecutive months where the measured temperature was above normal, as measured from 1981 to 2010.
In response to the cold forecast, Islanders without a warm home to go to are getting some extra help this weekend.
The fire halls in downtown Charlottetown and Summerside are both opening at 7 p.m. Friday to offer people a warm place to go.
The provincial government says Bedford MacDonald House in Charlottetown will be operating overflow beds, and in a news release said that if other shelters are at capacity additional beds have been secured.
No one from the province was available to clarify where those beds are or how to access them.
Taxi services will be available to take anyone in distress to a warm location.
People needing help can call The Shelter Support Line at 1-833-220-4722.