Environment and Climate Change Canada issued an extreme cold warning for Mountain View County, Red Deer County and nearby urban centres Sunday which continued into Monday.
“A period of very cold wind chills is expected,” a 3:35 p.m. Feb. 9 weather alert update for the area said. A 4:17 a.m. Feb. 10 alert gave the same message.
An extreme cold warning is Issued when the temperature or wind chill is expected to reach – 40 C for at least two hours.
Areas included in the warning were:
• Red Deer County near Penhold, Innisfail, Bowden, Elnora, Lousana, Delburne, Pine Lake, Spruce View, Red Lodge Provincial Park and Sylvan Lake.
• Mountain View County near Carstairs, Cremona, Water Valley, Olds, Didsbury and Sundre
Extremely cold wind chill values between – 40 Celsius (C) and – 45 C were expected to develop overnight on Feb. 9 , the federal agency noted in the alert for the areas.
Wind chill values will moderate by Monday afternoon, the alert said.
“Extreme cold puts everyone at risk, the federal agency noted in the alert.
Risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter, it said.
“Cover up. Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill. If it’s too cold for you to stay outside, it’s too cold for your pet to stay outside,” the federal agency advised.
Editor's note: This article has been updated from the original to include the most recent update from Environment and Climate Change Canada on the morning of Feb. 10.
