Agencies urge precaution, goodwill as frigid temperatures close in on Lethbridge

LETHBRIDGE — The first blast of winter temperatures will arrive in Lethbridge Tuesday evening.

Temperatures will drop from about 5 C to -20 in less than 24 hours.

"Our bodies are very good at adapting but when it is this cold, unfortunately, there's only so much the body can do and frostbite and frostnip do occur quite frequently and very quickly, within a couple of minutes when it is this cold," said Naomi Nania, EMS public education officer with Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Nania recommends dressing in layers, wearing a toque and gloves or, if possible, staying indoors.

"If you do need to go outside, make sure you're covering those vulnerable areas like your nose and your ears, your fingers and your toes," Nania said.

In December, the Government of Alberta provided $1 million to fund 50 temporary winter shelter spaces in Lethbridge.

The city says the temperatures haven't met the -40 threshold to enact its extreme temperature response protocol.

"Most of this population doesn't have a closet," said Ken Kissick, co-founder of Streets Alive Mission.

"So today, we're all wearing heavy coats or they're layering up and the warm weather comes, and that stuff gets stripped down and a lot of times … it just gets lost somewhere and then they're back needing it again."

Kissick says clothing donations are always needed.

"We need warm coats and hoodies," he said.

"We're also always in need of things like socks, brand-new underwear, those kinds of things.

"But anything that is in your closet (that) you're not using, we can use it."

The snow and ice have melted on roadways and sidewalks as of Tuesday afternoon but that moisture will refreeze.

As a result, Nania says calls for falls increase.

"Someone is outside shovelling and they have a slip and fall, that's a concern because they're outside and because there's those broken bones and concerns with that," Nania said.