Arctic Air over Northern BC creates risk of frostbite within minutes on exposed skin
PRINCE GEORGE – The Northern Capital is caught in the icy vice of an extreme arctic air outflow that’s sent temperatures plunging well below negative 30, and with the bitter cold wind that’s been blowing, the air on your skin is going to feel a lot more like 40 below instead. It’s cold enough to trigger an Extreme Cold Warning from Enviroment and Climate Change Canada, since the unseasonable cold brings with it a major risk of frostbite and hypothermia.
When temperatures approach 40 below, with or without windchill, it’s cold enough for exposed skin to start freezing in a matter of seconds. That’s a major cause for concern for anyone caught out on the cold, for any reason at all. Shoveling your driveway, taking groceries in from the car, walking to work, or even standing just standing around admiring the view, when the air hurts your skin, it’s because frostbite has already started to take hold, and if you don’t take the sting serious, you could quickly find yourself grappling with debilitating or even life threatening injuries.
Relief from the bitter cold is on the horizon, forecasters are predicting a low pressure system moving in off the Pacific to disrupt the arctic air currently hanging over the central interior, meaning that we could start to see the cold temperatures break by the middle of this week, with mild temperatures on the way, just in time for christmas… but until then, layer up, stay dry, and stick close to shelter if you’re thinking about heading out to brave the cold.
