Extreme cold warning lifted for Thunder Bay

People in Thunder Bay, Ont. are still shivering through a cold snap, but the city is no longer under an extreme cold warning.

Environment Canada lifted the warning on Wednesday morning.

"The reason that the warning was lifted for Thunder Bay is that we are at a wind chill of minus 34 right now, and we're looking for a wind chill of minus 38 tonight," said warning preparedness meteorologist Peter Kimbell, on Wednesday afternoon.

"It's still cold, but we probably won't get the minus 40 that we might have had yesterday."

Kimbell said an extreme cold warning is issued for Thunder Bay when the temperature drops to40 C with the wind chill, or below.

Why is the extreme cold warning still in effect in warmer places?

Other parts of the province, including Toronto, remained under an extreme cold warning on Wednesday afternoon.

That's because extreme cold is indeed measured differently for variousgeographic areas, said Kimbell.

"Basically across the province, we issue [extreme cold warnings] at different thresholds, and that's because of climatology," he said.

"In the north, including Thunder Bay it's at ... wind chills of minus 40," he said.

"In Southern Ontario it would be [wind chills of] minus 30, in eastern Ontario and the Parry Sound, Georgian Bay area, it would be minus 35, and of course in the far north it would be minus 45."

Toronto's temperature was12 C on Wednesday afternoon, but Environment Canada was forecasting an overnight temperatures of30 C with wind chill for thatcity.

Cold snap to continue into New Year

Although the warning has been lifted, Kimbellsaid people in Thunder Bay can expect bitterly cold temperatures to persist for the next few days, "until New Years Day, and probably beyond that."