Extreme cold warnings stretched into Saturday

Another weekend in the Ottawa area will start under an extreme cold warning, the third local set of thesewarnings since Jan. 10.

Some of these started Thursday and they've grown tocover the entire regionexcept for the Pembroke area. There is a warning for more easterly parts of Renfrew County, such as thetown of Renfrew.

The wind chill in most places Friday night and Saturday morning could make it feel as cold as -40.

Ottawa's overnight low is -28 C and in Cornwall andManiwaki, it's -29 C.

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The Kingston area is expected to feela few degreeswarmer than that, with thewind expected to make it feel like 30 at its coldest overnight.

The Pembroke area has a similar forecast to Kingston but because warning criteria can vary from place to place, it's not under a warning.

Temperatures this low mean people should cover as much exposed skin as they can, dress in layers ideally a wind-resistant outer layer andwatch for cold-related health problemssuch as muscle pain, numb extremities and shortness of breath.

Ottawa's coldest day of the year

The -27.9 C recorded at the Ottawa airport at 8 a.m. Friday is its coldest temperature of the year so far.

The lowest temperature on record for Jan. 22 there is 31.1 C, which it's hit three times. The last time was in 1943.

Environment Canada's average temperature for Ottawa this January is 12.8C, similar to that month in 2019. In January 2021 that was 7.2 C and6.4 C in 2020.

Ottawa's Saturday forecast predicts an end to itsextreme cold warning in late morning on the way to a high of -14 C. Saturday night's low is -15 C and its Sunday high, -7 C.