Extreme cold weather continues to grip Toronto, GTA

The bitter cold is not loosening its grip on Toronto and the GTA, as the region is under an extreme cold warning by Environment Canada.

The weather agency calls for the possibility of wind chills between -30 to -35 overnight and into Friday morning.

Earlier on Thursday, Toronto’s medical officer of health issued an extreme cold weather alert for the city, which will be in effect under further notice. It’s the 11th alert covering 19 days so far this year.

Temperatures are expected to plunge throughout the day on Thursday.

Wind chill values are expected to be between -20 and -30 across much of southern Ontario, Environment Canada said.

A high of -2 C was reached early this morning, 680News meteorologist Jill Taylor said, but fell to -13 C in the afternoon with a wind chill near -23.

Taylor said the low will be near -22 C on Thursday night, but will feel like -33 C with the wind.

During extreme cold weather alerts, extra services are available to the homeless, including two 24-hour drop-ins and extra shelter beds.

Click here for more information on cold weather alerts and the services they trigger.

Click here for the full weather forecast.

Below is an interactive chart of statistics on extreme cold weather alerts in Toronto; data courtesy of City of Toronto. Mobile viewers, click here.

Cold weather in store this weekend

The extreme cold temperatures are expected to continue into the weekend.

On Saturday, which is also Valentine’s Day, Toronto could receive up to three centimetres of snow. The forecast calls for a high of -7 C and low near -23 C.

However, on Sunday, the daytime temperature will be more bone-chilling at -17 C, while the low will be near -22 C.

Taylor said Saturday will “likely be the coldest Valentine’s Day in five years.”

Over the past five years, Valentine’s Day has seen warmer temperatures between 6 C and -1 C, Taylor said. The warmest Feb. 14 on record was 8 C, set in 1984.

 

February could be coldest on record

Long-term projections show the city is in for below-seasonal temperatures over the next couple of weeks. The temperature will go from freezing to a slight warm-up and then returning to cold, CityNews meteorologist Adam Stiles said.

Stiles also said this month could be one of the colder Februarys on record.

Transit in the GTA has been severely affected by the cold this winter, with aging infrastructure unable to cope with the frigid temperatures. Both GO Transit and TTC have endured delays on train and streetcar lines.

The fluctuating temperatures have also caused several water main breaks across the city.

Toronto gets on average about 1,100 water main breaks each year, resulting from the mechanical or structural failure of its underground pipes.

Although there have been more than 300 water main breaks this year, Joe Cirillo, a construction manager at Toronto Water, said last year was worse.

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