Frigid temperatures expected to hit the Maritimes later this week

Cold temperatures cause mist to comes off the L'Assomption River in Saint-Come, Que., on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Frigid temperatures are expected to hit the Maritimes later this week as a wave of Arctic air moves into the region.

The outbreak of frigid, Arctic air has triggered extreme cold warnings in the Prairies as well as Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador.

The warnings for those areas of the country call for a wind chill making it feel near or colder than -40 this week.

The public is being advised to watch for cold-related symptoms and that there is an increased risk of frostbite.

The wave of Arctic air we’ll need to watch in the Maritimes moves into northern Ontario and northern Quebec Thursday. That Arctic air is then forecast to enter the Maritimes Friday night into Saturday.

That happens as a strong low pressure system positioned near the coast of Labrador will put the region into a gusty northerly wind. The wind is expected to provide a highway of sorts for that colder air to come rushing down and across our region.

Will it be enough to see extreme cold warnings issued in Atlantic Canada? Possibly.

Ian Hubbard, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said their Atlantic Canada office is anticipating wind chill values may approach the warning criteria of feeling near -35 for parts of the Maritimes Friday night into Saturday.

The last time an extreme cold warning was issued in New Brunswick was Jan. 31 and Feb. 1,, 2022. For Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, it was Feb. 23 and 24, 2015.

The cold may be enough to challenge some standing low temperature records for a Feb. 4 as well. The forecast for low temperatures Friday night into Saturday morning looks like it could come within a few degrees of those records at a number of sites in the Maritimes.

There have been some notably cold Feb. 4 days in the past though. Most notably, 1948 and 1971 seem to have set more than a few of the standing record lows.

Frigid conditions are expected through the weekend for the Maritimes. Temperatures may moderate early next week with the return of a southerly wind bringing up some milder air from the U.S. eastern seaboard.