Winnipeg deep freeze as cold as uninhabited planet
Manitoba Museum reports Winnipeg's temperature as cold as surface of Mars
In terms of astonishing weather facts, it doesn't get much more impressive than being as cold as a distant planet for a day.
Grounded planes
It's so cold thatone airline has decided not to fly in or out of Winnipeg.
ExpressJet, a partner of United Airlines, cancelled some flights Mondaynight and Tuesday morning.
Passengers are being moved onto flights operated by other airlines and rerouted through other cities.ExpressJet says the unique combination of extreme low temperatures and ice crystals exceed safe operating guidelines for their aircraft.
A spokesperson told CBC News there will be more cancellations as long as the forecast stays the same citing safety as the number one priority.
The aircraft ExpressJet flies are smaller commuter planes that carry 35-70 passengers.
However, other airlines operate the same type of planes and are flying as usual.
Happy for delay
Allison Schmidt, who teaches in Japan, was set to fly to Chicago and then Tokyo but her flight has been delayed for at least a day.
And the Winnipegger who was visiting family for Christmas couldnt be happier about it.
I had booked this flight because it was about $300 or $400 cheaper [to leave before the New Year]. I thought it was worth it for just one night, she said.
But I was really regretting it this morning, saying goodbye. I felt like the nine days just went by far too quickly.
So now I get to spend New Year's with my family [and] January 1st is actually my mom's birthday.
The Winnipeg Airports Authority says other than United, the cold weather hasn't impacted operations at Richardson International.
The Manitoba Museum is reporting Winnipeg's temperatures on Tuesday were actually as cold as the surface of Mars.
According to the Curiosity Rover, Mars reached a maximum temperature of -29 C on Tuesday, a temperature Winnipeg only reached shortly before 3 p.m.
The deep freeze over much of Southern Manitoba prompted extreme wind chill warnings in the area and most of the north.
In Winnipeg, the daytime high temperature for Tuesday was only expected to reach31 C, but the windchill made it feel more like40 to50. That meansexposed skin can freeze in less than five minutes.
On Monday, it got as warm as28 C.
In the northern half of the province, inplaces like Thompson, Nelson House, Lynn Lake, Leaf Rapids and Churchill, thewind chills on Tuesday made it feel like48 to 53.
The entire province was under an extreme wind chill warning on Monday, but it was later liftedin the central portion of Manitoba as well as the southwest and southeast corners.
Some outdoor New Year's Eve activities cancelled
While many of the outdoor New Years Eve activities planned at The Forks will go on as planned tonight, at least one has been cancelled.
The only thing weve had to cancel is the horse-drawn wagon rides, scheduled from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Its just too cold for that, said Clare MacKay of The Forks. Everything else weve been able to proceed with, and we have a lot of stuff that happens inside.
The Forks is hosting crafts for kids, a number of bands and fireworks at 10 p.m. Festivities begin at 5 p.m.
Newcomer not dissuaded by cold
A 16-year-old girl from Nigeria hasnt been dissuaded by Winnipegs other-worldly cold. Lynda Okeke-Okoli arrived in Winnipeg just 48 hours ago to attend high school here.
It wasnt exactly a warm welcome for the teen, with temperatures hovering below -30 C.
I was just like, God help me! I said, God, please help me. I dont know how Im going to handle this! she said.
She said even advice from her dad hadnt prepared her for the weather. Despite that, plans to stick out in Winnipeg.
Cold, but not the coldest
It's cold but not enough for a record.
The historical mark for this day in history is a rattling37.8C, set in 1967.
Environment Canada meteorologist DaleMarciskisaid the coldest December on record for Winnipeg was set in 1879, with an average temperature of 26 C.
This Decembers average temperature so far is close to21C. That is only about the fifth coldest ever.
The three coldest Decembers for Winnipeg are:
- 1879: 26.0 C
- 1872: 22.6 C
- 2000: 22.0 C
- 1876: 21.8
- 1893: 21.4
Finding the homeless
A downtown organization is trying to find those Winnipeggers who have no place to go, and get them out of the frigid cold.
The Downtown Biz' has volunteers on foot and in vehicles picking up people who need shelter.
We have come across individuals, for example, who have been passed out in back lanes who have consumed too much and it has been as cold as 40 C," said BrendanMalaky, who is with the Biz's Downtown Watch program.
"In some instances, we haven't been able to wake them up, in which casewe call 911 immediately.
Malaky saidthey won't force someone insidebut strongly encourage people to go to a nearby shelter.
First thing we do is assess and make sure that they're alright, make sure their condition is good, make sure they've got appropriate clothing for the weather," he said.
"We're going to get them whatever they're missing and see if we can get them somewhere to stay for the night.
The watch program has200 volunteers and up to 35 staff members working seven days a week.
Operation Red Nose
Even though it's bitterly cold, it's business as usual for Operation Red Nose tonight.
Over the weekend, the service shut down because of the extreme cold but coordinator Sharra Hinton said volunteers will be out in full force tonight, offering free rides for New Years Eve revelers --- even if the cold means a few delays.
It is going to be cold and a lot of vehicles are going to be sitting for quite awhile before they start again so I'm hoping that everything will go OK, she said.
Hinton says calls from 9 p.m. to midnight are answered pretty quickly but things get slower when the calls start pouring in after the ball drops and the New Year arrives.
People are probably looking at closer to an hour, maybe an hour and a half wait with us, she said.
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