Extreme cold warnings return for most of Ottawa-Gatineau area

Here comes another January 2022 cold snap Thursday night intoFriday.

Environment Canada has issued its third batch of local extreme cold warnings in fewer than two weeks, now covering the entire Ottawa-Gatineau region except for the Kingston and Belleville areas.

The coldesttemperatures are in parts of westernQuebecwhere the wind could make32 Cfeel closer to 40 on Thursday night. Itstemperature got about that cold on Jan. 11 and 16.

Thursday's high is 19 C in Maniwaki and Friday's 18 C, close to the average low for this time of year.

Most communities in eastern Ontario could see a wind chill around 35 overnight. The forecast for Ottawa calls for a high of 16 C Thursday, a low of 29 C Thursday night,and a high of 18 C Friday.

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

Colder January than in recent years

The freeze comes after warmer temperatures Wednesday; the capital went from 4 C at 10 p.m. to 18 C at 5 a.m. Thursday.

Environment Canada's average temperature for Ottawa this January is 12.5 C, similar to that month in 2019. In January 2021 that was 7.2 C and6.4 C in 2020.

The lowest temperature on record for Jan. 21 in Ottawa is 31.1 C in 1943.

Saturday's highs are generallybelow average,but less extreme than the end of the work week, and a bit warmer than last Saturday's extreme cold. Sunday's highs are warmer still, but that night could bring another temperature plunge.