The City of Toronto remained under an extreme cold weather alert and southern Ontario was facing temperatures as low as -15 Celsius on Tuesday as areas of western Canada were welcoming unseasonable warmth.
Environment Canada said Toronto's suddenly frigid weather would hover in the minus teens all day while a bone-chilling Arctic blast would drop wind chill values as low as -25 C.
"It's probably the coldest day of winter so far in the Toronto area," Environment Canada climatologist Dave Phillips told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel on Tuesday.
An extreme cold weather alert issued by the city on Monday will remain in effect, meaning the city's emergency shelters will stay at expanded capacity and outreach workers will be out offering assistance to vulnerable homeless people.
Temperatures in Montreal had plunged to a similar -15 C overnight and were expected to stay at that level through Tuesday, with the wind chill making it feel as cold as -26 C.
It's a frigid forecast but one that is made bearable with a little bit of perspective, Phillips said.
He reminded Torontonians that the city has only seen about 10 centimetres of snow this season when residents should have stomped through about 40 centimetres of the white stuff by now.
"We really have escaped the huge amounts of snow that we've seen elsewhere," he said.
Toronto and Montreal were expected to warm up later this week, however, with temperatures reaching above freezing as early as Friday or Saturday.
Western provinces will not have to wait for the weekend to see positive temperatures, with sunny, cloudless skies greeting Prairie cities Tuesday morning.
Winnipeg could see temperatures as warm as 2 C by the afternoon, while Regina and Saskatoon are also likely to see snow-melting warmth.
In Calgary and Vancouver highs of 8 and 9 C were expected Tuesday, while forecasts suggested positive temperatures would last through the weekend.
Southern Ontario severe weather warnings
Some sections of southern Ontario had been issued severe weather warnings on Tuesday.
Dufferin County, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto, was told to expect snow squalls with bursts of heavy snow.
Snow falls of 15 centimetres are possible over the Collingwood and Innisfil area on Tuesday, while the nearby London airport has already received 29 centimetres of snow since the harsh weather began late Monday evening. Visibility was also being reduced to less than 100 metres.
Chilly residents in southern Ontario can thank a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon for the blustery temperatures, said Phillips.
He noted that a jetstream, a current of air created when warm and cold air masses mingle, has moved over the Prairies and is now dipping down over Ontario.
"It's this cold air that's been pent up for so many weeks and finally it's been able to make a charge southwards and it's come over Ontario, not over the Prairies where we often see it," Phillips said in an interview from Barrie, Ont. where temperatures dipped as low as – 19 C on Tuesday.
Northern Ontario wind chill
In northern Ontario, meantime, cold Arctic air combined with gusting winds was behind wind chill values in the -35 to -44 Celsius range Tuesday morning.
Environment Canada was warning residents in the area surrounding Moosonee and Attawapiskat that exposed skin could freeze in as little as 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, Calgary residents were able to stroll down the street in 3 C weather on Tuesday.
Forecasts show the city will hit relatively mild temperatures every day this week with the mercury expected to reach 12 C on Wednesday.
It's a slight reprieve from the cold but as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
In a message posted to Twitter, CTV Calgary meteorologist David Spence noted that the Global Forecast System is calling for "nasty cold weather" to hit the city around Jan. 15.
Temperatures around that time are expected to dip into the – 20s, he wrote. It's a notable change for a city that Spence said had an average high of 4.6 C in December.
