Toronto set a new low temperature record on Thursday as an extended cold snap continues in the GTA.
The city saw a low of -22 C this morning, beating the previous record of -18.9 C set in 1960.
“We saw no temperature last year, last winter that was even close to this. I think the coldest moment last year was -14 or -15 and here it is already -22,” Dave Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, told CP24 Thursday.
“What really shocked me was this morning (was) Torontonians could say, if you wanted it warmer than you were, head to the North Pole, because the North Pole was four degrees warmer than Toronto was.”
Phillips noted that the cold snap is rare for the first full week of winter.
“We sometimes have to wait till the dead of winter,” he said.
“I don’t think we could see anything colder than this for the rest of the winter so if you can survive this, you can survive almost anything in the Toronto area.”
On the plus side, Phillips said the winds are relatively calm in the GTA.
“Wherever you are, somewhere else is getting worse weather so that maybe should cheer you up,” he said. “Try Churchill at -50 C.”
Phillips said another positive is that we may see less snow this winter.
“That snow engine gets turned on when you’ve got cold air coming across an open lake but now the lakes are freezing over so we may not see as much snow as people thought because of the fact that the lakes are not contributing to the lake effect,” he added.
Meanwhile, an extreme cold weather alert remains in effect for the city, which is expected to continue to see frigid temperatures for the rest of the week.
The city’s medical officer of health is advising people headed outside to dress in layers and cover all exposed skin to avoid frostbite.
Toronto Animal Services is also warning pet owners to limit the amount of time that their dogs or cats spend outdoors.
“Obviously a dog still needs to go out and have a bathroom break but there is really no safe amount of time,” Nicola Ware, an animal care and control officer, told CP24.
Ware said a Toronto family recently lost their dog after the pet went missing and was out in the cold weather for too long.
“Their dog somehow got lost. The family did search thoroughly, very early on, but sadly the dog was found deceased,” she said.
“It’s a very tragic lesson that in light of this frigid temperatures even a larger dog can succumb to the conditions.”
Environment Canada is calling for daytime highs of -10 C on Friday, -8 C on Saturday, and -13 C on Sunday.
