Montrealers will suffer through two more weeks of brutal winter weather before temperatures improve.
The weather bureau from Environment Canada issued an extreme cold weather warning for many areas in Quebec, and said it’s been 20 years since Quebec has seen a stretch of cold like this.
It was -21 degrees Celsius Monday morning in Montreal with winds gusting to 50 km/h. With the wind chill factor, it felt more like -35.
Simon Legault, a meteorologist for Environment Canada, said the cold weather will continue for some time.
“We’re going to keep some under the normal temperatures for a couple of weeks, maybe two to three weeks,” Legault said. “Below the normal doesn’t mean cold as today, but we’re still getting some cold air coming in.”
The average temperatures for the first half of February is supposed to average around -10.5 degrees Celsius.
Legault said the cold arctic air descending on Quebec is to blame for the below-average temperatures, but it has also pushed away the snow storm into the Maritimes.
In such freezing conditions, meteorologists are warning people of “an elevated risk” of frostbite and hypothermia.
Environment Canada officials are also warning Quebecers of blizzard conditions in the south eastern areas of the province.
Here is an infographic on Montreal’s cold temperatures:
