January thaw turning to hard freeze

After two-day January thaw, temperatures on P.E.I. are taking a hard turn downward.

It was 7 C at Charlottetown Airport at 5 a.m. Friday, and more than half of the heavy snow that fell last weekend was gone, but the thaw is about to end in dramatic fashion, said CBC meteorologist Brennan Allen.

"We're on our way down the roller coaster," said Allen.

"Temperatures will be falling to below zero by noon and falling even further into the overnight."

Strong winds coming

The Island could see as much as a 23-degree temperature swing in the course of 24 hours, said Allen, with the thermometer going as low as -16 C overnight. Strong winds will develop as the temperature plummets, with gusts as high as 70 to 80 km/h Friday evening.

Wind chills Saturday morning could be as low as -30 C, and there could be a few centimetres of fresh snow from overnight flurries.

Cold will continue through the weekend. Allen does not expect to see temperatures above zero again until Wednesday.

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