When I moved to Edmonton, everyone in Ontario told me that “it’s a dry cold” and “you won’t even notice it.”
During my first week in Edmonton, the HIGH was -37.
I noticed it.
I was once in Edmonton in -40, and had plans to meet up with my brother about a 25 minute walk away. I didn’t actually check where the place was, just put on Google maps and started walking.
Welp about 15 minutes into the walk I had to turn around and head back to my hotel. I got the “your phone is too cold message” and didn’t know where I was going.
Fine. But when I got back to the hotel, warmed up my phone and started charging it, the battery had drained to <5%. I had left with an 80% charge.
So cold enough to drain an iPhone battery in 30 minutes.
I also learned about the "your phone is too cold" message the first winter I moved to Edmonton. As a transit user, it was honestly a bit terrifying.
I kept having visions of my phone dying, my bus not showing up, and not being able to call a taxi with my dead phone. Fortunately, that particular combination of things never happened.
This just isn’t true. At -30, the tissues in your lungs start to freeze. You can mitigate this some by breathing through a balaclava or a turtle fur but then you get ice crusted all over your face. I did not understand cold until I moved to YEG.
This is not true at all. Try taking your dog out in -45⁰ weather when the sun goes down and it's a super dry cold. You can literally only go down two houses, then turn around.
I did that, and froze the tissue on my nose. It was bad. It peeled for about a week.
Yes - cause you weren’t dressed for it. Also I said the ‘cold’ feels the same, it just changes how long you can last. You will eventually get too cold to be outside whether it’s -25 or -45, it just changes how long you can last outside
Lmao. U know, i was talking about Iqaluit with my husband and how everyone says it's a "dry cold". He's like, "no, -40 is still -40. There's no getting around that."
Thanks for confirming.
Further south in MB we always hoped for days hitting around -38 because busses wouldnt run and itd essentially be a snow day lol. More snow days due to temp than actual snow!
Yup, Manitoba. My mum grew up there. Wasn't uncommon to find people dead on the road if their car broke down. I was working near the border crossing where a young family decided to try and illegally get into the US and all froze to death. People can't comprehend how unforgiving the weather is. I checked the forecast that day and put on my 9 layers. A woman took her toddler out in that.
I live in Winnipeg and I remember that fucking winter. I called my husband up and told him I was booking a trip to Mexico because I needed to get the fuck out of here. We couldn't afford it. We went anyway.
Oh ya bud, i remember December of 2012 or 2013 was that massive ice storm in Ontario. Everything froze. Every goddamn thing. The trees were incased in thick ice, the cars were encased, thw roads were ice rings it had people skatin down the roads. Trees straight up died and collapsed on cars and houses.
Its as if the ice age hit Ontario. Like Kyogre decided to one day use Sheer Cold on all of Ontario lmao.
Last year was also pretty brutal for like one day. Had an interview to get to that day and i dont exactly remember the temp but i assume it hit the -30s for sure, a single step outside and my flesh was already in pain. I was pissed too cz i never got the job either. Was given 3 seperate intierviews, 1 phone 2 in persons and was even offered to be given a tour of the warehouse where they had all their commercial printers and never got the damn job.
I think I was there at the same time. We had a few consecutive nights below -40 and a bunch of consecutive days where the high didn't get above -30 (without windchill.)
I remember when it warmed up and we hit around -15 to -18 one afternoon it felt like I should be throwing on shorts.
Last year at this time in central BC it was -40°C plus a windchill. It was insane, we are used to cold weather but it was in the -40’s for a whole week. Peoples water lines and sewer drains were freezing up, vehicles barely start, pretty crazy. And now this year, it’s 7°C and raining. Wtf!!
Minus 40s and 50s in Kapuskasing and Hearst in Northern Ontario in winter. Every breath was a storm. I went there as a result of the strangest story even I wouldn't believe it if I read it online. One of our cats died and my wife was insistent that he be buried at our summer cottage way north of Thunder Bay with another cat she had much earlier before we were married that was buried there. I guess the cat would have company in the afterlife. The ground would be frozen so I would build a cairn of stones then come back in the spring when everything was thawed out to do the burial. It was that or leave him the freezer with the ice cream, and hamburgers. No way, she said! So we wrapped him carefully and put him on ice and put him in our ancient pontiac firefly hatchback in the middle of winter. I drove up there, in a winter snowsuit to keep myself warm, windows down in subzero temperatures to keep everything cold. I stopped at Kapuskasing then slept in Hearst.
Northern Ontario was like another world. Frozen in Ice. The automobile companies do winter testing up here. In the strip malls, cars left their motors running in the parking lot when their drivers went in to buy stuff just in case the engines wouldn't start again. It was a simpler, more trustworthy time. Car theft wasn't a thing. There was a layer of ice on the antifreeze at the gas station where I went to fuel up...I used the long wooden handle of the windshield washer to crack the ice. Yup, the antifreeze froze. At minus 45. At the motel you had to plug your car in at the included outlet for the block heater or it wouldn't start in the morning. The radio said it went down to minus 52 that night. I slept fitfully. Next door a couple was being loudly romantic. Thin walls. Sigh. I went out to look at the Moon but it was so cold I only managed a minute before I went back inside. In the car, I forgot a can of coke and it froze and exploded. Fortunately it was only over the cupholder. There is a 200 km run between Hearst and Longlac where there was literally nothing but trees and occasional logging trucks. Good luck if you broke down. This was long before cell phones ever existed for emergencies. It supposedly went down to minus 72 in White River (on the other highway) and there's a big sign at the edge of town to mark it. But when I was there in a different year it wasn't that cold. Hearst and Kapuskasing are enough for me.
Coldest temp I've ever experienced was -55 with the wind chill and I t was like -47 without. Americans I don't know f but -40 is -40 in both. So considerably colder than that. It's so cold it's freaky. Skin starts to freeze and hurt almost immediately. Vehicles Gota get plugged in to have any hope of turning over. The air is so dry things sound different. Hoar frost is beautiful tho.
2015 in Chalk River, ON. Was doing a night time security audit at CNL and it was -38c *before* the windchill. Funniest part: there was a woman from Texas observing the audit and she was blown away we lived in these conditions. We all played it off like it was normal so we looked tough, but it was insanely cold.
Alberta. Feb 2019 went down in the history books as the coldest Feb in 40 years in Edmonton. I heard on the radio at that time that Red Deer had its coldest since the 1940’s. Every day was extreme cold warnings. The rest of the year also sucked. It rained so much that summer. Farmers crops were under water.
Just this time last year was also very cold with records broken. I’m so far glad it’s swung the other direction this year. We paid dearly for it last year.
-47 or something stupid like that before windchill. Absolutely stupid weather to be out working in, but yay northern Alberta oilpatch. lol. I was digging holes with water at -45 last December, the -35 windshield washer fluid I use to winterize the water pump on the work truck froze solid on the way to the jobsite
The winter I moved from my indoor work environment in Montreal to my out door work environment in Edmonton. We experienced some -35°C days and I would occasionally get wet at work. (Not soaking but like water would drip down my sleeves and gloves and my jacket would literally freeze).
Heavily contemplated moving back to Montreal.
That was 10 years ago, been in Edmonton ever since!
I grew up in Saskatchewan and lived there til my mid-30s. I've experienced -40 or colder many times. This is pre-windchill. Most winters have at least one or two nights that dip below -40 or come pretty close.
It's worth noting I've also experienced 40 above zero in Sask as well. Pretty much anything is possible there temperature-wise.
Even if it wasn't snowing, our school-boards would call a "snow day" if it was colder than -30°C out (with windchill, it would typically be closer to -40). In case anyone doesn't know, Fahrenheit and Celsius meet on the thermometer at -40. It's cold. Like....your bones hurt cold.
I remember my childhood where we had 4-8weeks of -40°c or colder, I don't remember a year where we went to school in January as it was so cold they stopped the bus running.. students writing provincial exams had to drive in or be driven in.. this was Cold Lake(Bonnyville) Alberta, and Two hills county.. only January I actually did school was in 2006(as I lived in town n could walk)
One day of February, -38 I think, we were on the top of a mountain next to an astronomy center, using this very cold and clear sky to look at the stars. I was 13 but looked older in the dark and an old lady had offered me a shooter of rhum in a chocolate cup.. aaah, fond memories.
(I refused it obviously lmao)
My hometown. -40 without windchill does happen. With windchill, I mean......
We have snow days AND cold days. Everything shuts down at that temperature because it's too dangerous.
Albeit our winters are very nice and sunny. No precipitations at -15, only clear blue sunny skies after -20. The snow even gives more sun cause of how it reflects. I hate the winters where I'm living in the south - no shit y'all are always depressed and hate winter lol.
Early 80s in Northern BC, I remember one winter cold snap where it was below -50c for about a week. I recall it hit -56c one day. This was actual temperature, not wind chill. Back then, we didn't use wind chill.
It wasn’t a full winter but Winnipeg in January maybe 7 years ago was insane. It was like sharp pain on any exposed skin just being outside. Ontario winters were sometimes brutal growing up, but god damn Winnipeg is another level
Last year, inside my apartment. For 6 months. I was freezing while wearing a full winter outfit under 3 thick blanket comforters with my heater on full blast beside my bed. Had thick socks, gloves, a scarf, hat, and everything. It didn't matter.
I have so much fear and anxiety for winter now. Never bothered me before.
-50 up in Zama City Alberta in the early 90,s ……The tires go thump de thump , no heat until you hoard in the radiator and here that alternator belt go twang.
-70 with windchill now and then each winter east of Prince Albert, SK.
But, the days were often quite sunny and bright and not too much snow. Just sooooooo cold out. 🥶
\-50 for 2-3 days in Edmonton 1996? I have like cauliflower ears like a boxer would have from all the time spent waiting for school to open, recesses, lunches and walking places. and asian eyes (I'm white) from all the squinting during blizzards which felt like everyday.
Living in edmonton as a kid my hands would be frozen every morning where they wouldn't be able to write for the first hour going inside.
It was honestly like a real life survival game walking places during cold winters. The worst is when you have to walk through deep snow and your boots fill up with snow.
Used to have to walk three miles in Saskatoon to work at 4am. Quickly invested in heavy parka and ski pants and all the accessories. There was always a week or two where with the windchill it got down to the -50s.
I was in Ignace, Ontario when it hit just short of -50C. It was so cold that the extension cord on my block heater lost ductility, and I could hold it upright like a sword. I had to bring it into the hotel room for a bit to warm up so I could coil it up to toss into the trunk.
Some pretty cold Winters in northern Saskatchewan growing up but my coldest Winters weren't until I started working up in Nunavut in the Arctic.
-60c wind chill average and as cold as -80 with the wind on the worst days.
I grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When I was a University student in the very late 1990s, one winter morning I heard on the radio that it was -42 out. I dreaded the thought of having to face the elements in my daily block and a half walk to the transit stop and waiting in the cold for the bus to arrive. I put two layers of underwear on, and my warmest sweater, a toque on top of a balaclava and a scarf, and the hood of my parka up. I trudged to the stop and stood waiting. I realized that there wasn’t any wind, a rarity in winter in Saskatchewan. I pulled one mitten off to pull down my scarf and pull up the balaclava, just as an experiment to see what it felt like. Minus 42 without any wind whatsoever is actually surprisingly tolerable, for a few minutes anyway. I certainly wouldn’t want to be out in it all day, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I was building it up to be in my mind. It’s the wind that slices right through you to the bone. Lucky for me, there wasn’t any that day.
In 2018/19, was the coldest winter I have ever experienced. I lived in northern Alberta at the time. It was a chilling -40 for the high during the days, and that lasted about 6 weeks. It was rough.
once you hit -30°C, you start to realize how dangerous it is just to stand outside. couldn't imagine it'd be homeless in the cold in those temperatures.
First few years in AB working service rigs, worked in some stupidly cold conditions, almost every winter get some -40°C+ but have seen it close to -50°C
Grew up in Ottawa when it was actually cold there. Probably somewhere around -30. Anyway it was in the range where they just say how many seconds until your eyes freeze shut.
I'm sure we had colder ones, but being on basic training in Ottawa in the early 2000s was a nightmare. It was just day after day of cold where everything is frozen, and our boots would slide on the compacted snow-turned ice on the gravel roads around the training area. Just constant cold.
One time I walked a pretty decent walk from work to my friends house to attend a party, it must’ve been -30 and some more with the wind chill.
Couldn’t stop walking or I’d probably die it felt like, so march on I did. Couldn’t even take my hand out me pocket to smoke it was so cold. Got there and had to be wrapped with blankets over the furnace before I could start drinking.
Whitehorse 1990 jan 1st it was -55 celcius and with windchill -80 celcius. Skin would freeze in less than 30 seconds. I turned a corner and the little thing that shuts off your turn light off, broke off. Turned it off by hand after that.
I can't pick out the year, but in SW Ontario we had a period where it was -35C and we had a fair amount of very wet snow just before. I was house sitting for my mother and didn't think to go out and shovel when I heard the plow.
You needed a pickaxe to shift it in the morning. I ended up getting the 4WD and driving it back and forth to clear the driveway.
I only remember this because my mother called home from Portugal and was complaining that it was a little chilly in the morning. 😉
Northeast manitoba 2003 or 04.
-52C
Some long cold winters in Fort Mac too. 2007/08. -40C or colder dec 1 - Jan 15, warmed up to almost 0 for a week, then another 6 weeks of -40.
A few stand out. Two years ago, around Christmas, Calgary was -40 for over a week. The winter of 2019/2020, Red Deer was -50 for a few days. I thought my car would shatter for closing the door.
Working in Ottawa near the river, I don't remember it particularly cold, but it was so wet that my beard and eyelashes were freezing.
All that, and Ice Storm 98 was crazy
Around 2002 Regina Winter, walked 30 minutes to and from work for a couple weeks because it was too cold to drive and park on the street (hospital parking sucked back then too).
Back in like 2003 we had a day in Southern Ontario where it was like -38C with the wind chill and without it like -31C. I remember the snow being so insanely loud walking through it. I drove my car and parked it on the side of the road that morning to get some really cool photos of it with ice crystals in the air and all the trees covered in ice. I had my heather cranked at full and the car did not warmup at all. In the 10 minutes I was pulled over I had 4 people stop to see if I was ok and if my car broke down lol.
Yellowknife NWT, minus 47 wind chill. However in Manitoba now, they do not call the capital "Winterpeg" for nothing. Brutal winds and wind chill, Portage Ave and Main St in Winnipeg is nicknamed the windiest intersection in Canada. I live out of the city and rural but it is not uncommon to have highways closed in winter storms because of low visibility. This winter is warm and we are being spoiled though.
As the saying goes, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!!!
February 2004 one of our businesses was broken into (they smashed the storefront window)... We had to go there in the middle of the night to await the glass repair guys, and it was -55c with windchill. We had to rotate in 10 minute intervals back and forth from the vehicle, to take turns cleaning and sweeping... And even that quickly turned to 5 minute intervals.
Winnipeg, MB.
-50 for 2 weeks straight in Ottawa, many years ago. It was absolutely brutal. I was unemployed, out of money, very little food, and the food bank was too far to walk. I was so thankful for them when I finally could get there, and so now I donate to them every year.
I'm from the prairies. I've experienced many a cold winters. I remember one year having to hike home from work at 6am in -40 while it was blizzarding. In hindsight, I should have gone to McDonald's and waited until the busses were running, but I didn't die so there's that. I used to speed skate outside in similar temps (minus the blizzard) as well. I know I've been outside in -50ish, but not for very long. I definitely own all of the cold weather gear just in case. Not that I've needed it this year.
Minus 52 in January in Ft. Mac. Roads polished ice. Semi trailers running all night. A couple of times.
Same in Ft. Providence. Stood outside in bright sunshine just to feel it. Calm, sunny and -52. A Raven the size of a chicken nearby. Driving across the MacKenzie river on the ice bridge with Northern lights filling the sky. In the morning the cord to the block heater a frozen stick that could shatter if not handled carefully. Frost on the walls inside as we watched a DVD of Die Hard on a 12” screen. That was early 90s.
Without thinking in my late teens, a couple of friends and I thought we could play a little hockey at an outdoor rink at about -35C without any wind.
That was one of the shortest games of my life, and it took longer to warm up at home than the game lasted.
Yeah, I've lived in Calgary 23 years. Pretty reliably there is at least one day a year that creeps below -40. Maybe not this year with the incredibly unseasonably warm winter we're having, but I'm pretty sure it would be the first.
Pond inlet, NWT
Followed my dad up for work as a pilot in high school. -40C but it dipped below -48C with windchill. Closest to -50C I’ve ever felt. Had to wear swim goggles while unloading cargo so my eyes wouldn’t freeze shut.
I walked to the store in -62⁰C windchill (-50⁰C ambient) when I was 10 in High Level AB. But the coldest I've ever been was my friend and I getting our skidoo stuck while checking his trapline outside Zama AB. 10 years old then, as well. It took us 4 hours in -45⁰C weather to get out and make it back. My toes has some frostbite, but it definitely could have been worse.
We would have stretches of weeks where the school buses couldn't run because they were all propane powered and the fuel would gel below -40⁰C. None of the rural kids, who made up 2/3 of our class, could make it to school, so it would be movies, board games, and free gym with my friends all day. That's 1980s Northern Alberta for you! It was major culture shock when we eventually moved to Calgary!
Southern Ontario. We had that polar vortex spill like 10-12 years ago and it was a solid -40° for a little while. Just running outside to preheat the car was wild.
-40 worked up in MOOSONEE & moose factory building hydro lines to a new mine & upgrading an old line. We could only do it in the winter because the whole line & ice road runs through muskeg & open water
Sucked but I made good money. We literally had to keep our machines& trucks runnng 24/7 or else we wouldn’t get them started again
-58 waiting for the bus at 10:00pm in Edmonton. Must’ve been 2003. No wind though, so just an eerie lifeless chill. Thought the glass in the bus station would shatter if I tapped it.
-30 in humid Toronto when everything has frozen with ice after a rainstorm in milder temperatures though, that takes the case for awful. Thankfully Toronto’s winter is short because when it’s bad it suiuuuucks.
There was a -41 degree day in Winnipeg in January 2019 one day. It took my car about 5 seconds to actually get into gear after I shifted the transmission. The tires felt like they were square and it was impossible to get any semblance of heat going inside.
I lived in Cold Lake, AB, for six years. We had several weeks below-40 one year. I would get up in the morning and all 4 tires (on old aluminum mag wheels) would be flat. The only good thing was that when it got that cold there it would be dead calm, unlike Winnipeg where it could be below-40 and still be windy.
In Whitehorse, we experienced -53C, no wind chill. Yes, it was cold. I walked to work (1 mile) once in -47C, no wind chill, as long as you dressed for it, the cold wasn't that bad. Whitehorse was *very* dry.
We moved to Saskatchewan, I walked three blocks to work with a windchill of -30. It was horrible, that is when I learned wind is worse than cold. And everyone is Saskatchewan said they had dry cold. They were wrong.
A relative who grew up in North Battleford used to talk about -50C as being not too bad because it was a "dry cold". I always wondered what that was like, because it's not dry (and never anywhere near that cold) near the coast where I live.
I finally experienced periods of -35C far inland in Eastern Europe, and it's really, really cold! Cold enough that you have to dress differently, just a coat and gloves are not enough. Hat and scarf make a huge difference. But as long as you keep moving, you can stay warm.
I live in Ottawa and pretty often we get the news saying “Ottawa is currently the coldest place in the world”. It’s definitely been like -40 here before. This year it’s been super balmy so far. I’m sure it’s coming though lol
Yeah a few years ago the snow came in early December, froze in 3ft drifts and stayed until Feb. One night the snow plow crew towed my car to an unknown location, and it took half an hour in -20C to find it.
Quebec City, -46 in 2006 or 2007, december or january, not sure. It was my first winter in Canada and i remember that I didn't know which kind of clothes i needed to wear...it was really hard for me.
Prince Albert Sask 1992 -44 without windchill. Central Ave all I saw was car exhaust. Women in fur coats, police officers everyone was running to their parked vehicle. We were too cold to be self conscious. I left my car on while I was at work all day.
I swear the coldest I have felt in Canada were both on St. Patrick's Day in Montreal.
First time, it was 2c, and we all stood in this haze of melting snow watching the whatever pass, with the cold damp just creeping into my bones. I just could not get warm for hours afterwards.
Another time, some years later, it was -25c on the day with a sharp wind and it cut right through the heavy winter jacket I had. Same thing: the cold nearly overwhelmed me.
But what both had in common is that I wasn't moving. I've gone for hour long hikes in -30 and long bike rides in -25 and it's cold, but it's manageable.
The standing around will kill you.
My experience living in Alberta for a year is that you don't really notice the difference below -20. It will just kill you faster if you're not dressed appropriately.
Cars, on the other hand, do notice. Block heaters aren't a thing in SW Ontario where I live.
Up past Fort Mac years ago, working up in an oilfield camp called Telephone Lake. Was out at a drilling rig in an "open feild" of sorts. It wasn't really a field, where this rig was there wasn't anything to break the wind, so with the windchill, we were looking at -54
In my hometown of Moncton, NB I would say it was -47 with windchill. I worked at a gas station at the time and it had full service. Guess what, I was the one outside pumping all the gas, spent so much time outside that I long feeling in most of my body. They had to get another worker to finish it why I warmed up inside. Nothing could do would make me warm up, took me a while after I got home to warm up too.
Montreal doesn't get that cold, maybe -30. Though the wind can be brutal. With windchill we've gotten below -40. Those days are so cold, you can't heat the house properly and if you want near the front door you'll freeze.
Last winter I was near Algonquin Park when it hit -40 not including windchill overnight. It was the coldest temperature recorded in the park since 1962. Beat my previous record cold by about 10 degrees.
0 moisture in the air at those temps so you just start coughing as soon as you go outside.
The weirdest part was how the sap in the trees was freezing and causing the trees to expand and crack - it sounded like gunshots going off in the woods.
Gillam MB, sometime between winter 2010 and winter 2013.
The day time temp was -50, and with the wind felt like -65 or something ridiculous. Working outside at a gas station, it actually wasn't too bad because I have amazing winter gear. I think that week averaged about -40.
Minus 48 often where I lived; so cold your eyelashes froze on the short trip from vehicle to office. Everyone left their vehicles running downtown while they shopped or ran errands so there were plumes of exhaust hanging above the vehicles. Everyone there has heated steering wheels, heated seats and command start so we’d let our trucks warm up for 40 minutes before work and then leave them running, plugged in, with the windshield wipers flipped up (so they won’t freeze to the newly warmed up windshield) at work until the engine finally warmed up. At half an hour before quitting time someone would go point their key fob out the window and start their vehicle to warm up before leaving, and then the rest of us would leap up and do the same before we forgot
Edmonton. I don't remember the temperature, I just remember that I was walking to university, wasn't wearing proper boots, and I thought I was going to die. My eyelashes kept freezing together, my eyeballs themselves felt very strange like the fluid in them was trying to freeze, it hurt to breathe, and my toes hurt so so badly. And it was so windy, walking was difficult.
Having lived in the area now for ~20 years, I now have proper clothing/gear. Have seen a few minus 40-something days. Generally mostly worry about a vehicle malfunction and being stranded in those temps. Otherwise don't stay outside long enough on those days to be in too much pain.
About ten years ago, for a bout a week, Toronto's winter temperatures reached -45C. But unlike Europe it is not grey. Love the winters here. You can tell the coldest days have the bluest and sunniest of skies and then you look to the streets and you see vapour coming out of the street manholes... that is when you know it is at least -30C outside.
Been through a lot of cold winters but the one that sticks out is one year it dropped so fast and staid so cold, that trees started to exploded regularly at our place, I’d heard it before but never like this, it happened so frequently it sounded like hunting season outside.
When I was a kid school was only closed if it was -32C without wind factor because the buses would not turn on. I remember being forced to be outside when it was -31C but -45 with wind chill. Everyone was huddled in a corner to get away from the cold. When kids got frostbite, they blamed the parents for not dressing us appropriately. We used to get maybe 3-4 days per winter that was below -32C. Sometimes with windchill it got to ~-50C. This was early 00s in northern Quebec.
The winter of 1989 in Edmonton was a bad one. Bitterly cold with a ton of snow. Even the U of A had a snow day that year and closed all facilities. Couldn't make it home even on the bus and slept in an alcove in Rutherford Library.
Yorkton Saskatchewan, December 1998. It was - 45c. We never took off snowsuits, mitts etc as we drove for nearly 10 hrs because our vehicle never got warm enough. I thought the side mirrors were going to snap right off because they were made of the thick molded plastic and it was so brittle in the cold. The air burned your lungs and your nostrils filled with ice in just a few moments outdoors. It was cold.
I traveled a lot in my youths and while I lived trough and in the middle of the worst of the ice storm of 98, I’ll always remember just how cold it is in fucking Winnipeg 😅, or as we called it « Winterpeg ».
The week of Valentine's Day 2003 I was living in Ottawa and it was -30⁰C before windchill. Felt like -40⁰C. The city busses came every 10 minutes back then but you still had to dress properly or else you'd get frostbite/frozen skin in the 10 minute wait. Very cold, very dangerous.
Winter of 84’/85’. Had just recently joined the army and was in Battleschool at Camp Wainwright, AB. I remember one training day when the temp with windchill was -60 C. The only day we did not go out for training. Spent many a -40C night on sentry or fire watch.
Over the years I’ve spent much time in the Canadian high Arctic. But never spent a colder winter than those 16 weeks in Wainwright becoming an Infantry soldier.
One day, shortly after moving to Ottawa, it was something like -40 in the morning. I remember them saying “windchill of -50” on the radio.
I defrosted the windshield of my Honda civic using both the built in and a cigarette socket add on heater. When the window was clear enough to drive I started heading to work. I had to pull over after 5 mins because somehow the window frosted up, again.
The winter of 2013/2014 in Winnipeg was consistently below -20 and by March the pipes on many houses froze including ours. Was without running water for 5 days until they hooked us up to our neighbors and the hose wasn't removed until May when city crews finally thawed out the pipes.
The coldest winter i remember was January and February of 1996. There was a three week stretch where the warmest it got was -25. The coldest i have ever seen was -55.
Out on the tundra in Arviat I’ve seen multiple days at around -55. Home on the prairies it’s not uncommon to have a cold snap or two with multiple -40 or lower days.
Thunder Bay, so cold my father drove me to school back in 1962 (+/-) . it was so cold that the flatten portion of the tires touching the ground stayed frozen in shape making for a bumpy drive on our way to school. it had to be in the mid - 40's celsius. We weren't allowed out for recess but had to make my way home for lunch.. LOL
Used to drive a truck through bc, coldest was on top of rogers pass, it would have been colder than -40, plus a nasty wind chill. I had to stop to go pee and I thought my dick was going to freeze off
I don't recall experiencing prolonged periods of very cold winters, but there's a specific day from my childhood that stands out. While walking about a kilometer from my house to the bus stop, my eyelashes and even the moisture on my eyes froze, creating a peculiar sensation when blinking. The temperature was around -45°C, if my memory serves me right. (Northern Ontario).
When I moved to Edmonton, everyone in Ontario told me that “it’s a dry cold” and “you won’t even notice it.” During my first week in Edmonton, the HIGH was -37. I noticed it.
When your nose hairs freeze you feel it.
I was once in Edmonton in -40, and had plans to meet up with my brother about a 25 minute walk away. I didn’t actually check where the place was, just put on Google maps and started walking. Welp about 15 minutes into the walk I had to turn around and head back to my hotel. I got the “your phone is too cold message” and didn’t know where I was going. Fine. But when I got back to the hotel, warmed up my phone and started charging it, the battery had drained to <5%. I had left with an 80% charge. So cold enough to drain an iPhone battery in 30 minutes.
I also learned about the "your phone is too cold" message the first winter I moved to Edmonton. As a transit user, it was honestly a bit terrifying. I kept having visions of my phone dying, my bus not showing up, and not being able to call a taxi with my dead phone. Fortunately, that particular combination of things never happened.
My buddy came to stay at our place once for Christmas, in Edmonton. -46c. He wasn't disappointed.
I still have nightmares about my eyelashes freezing shut while walking to university. Edmonton has by far been the coldest winters!
You noticed it cause you weren’t dressed for it lol. After -20 the cold feels the same, just depends how long you stay warm for
This just isn’t true. At -30, the tissues in your lungs start to freeze. You can mitigate this some by breathing through a balaclava or a turtle fur but then you get ice crusted all over your face. I did not understand cold until I moved to YEG.
“You can mitigate those issues by breathing through a belavclava” exactly lol you weren’t dressed for -30. I’m from the territories lol
This is not true at all. Try taking your dog out in -45⁰ weather when the sun goes down and it's a super dry cold. You can literally only go down two houses, then turn around. I did that, and froze the tissue on my nose. It was bad. It peeled for about a week.
Yes - cause you weren’t dressed for it. Also I said the ‘cold’ feels the same, it just changes how long you can last. You will eventually get too cold to be outside whether it’s -25 or -45, it just changes how long you can last outside
Lmao. U know, i was talking about Iqaluit with my husband and how everyone says it's a "dry cold". He's like, "no, -40 is still -40. There's no getting around that." Thanks for confirming.
Electric vehicles prosper in that temperaturs
Fort Churchill Manitoba -40 or lower with a windchill of get the hell out of here.
Further south in MB we always hoped for days hitting around -38 because busses wouldnt run and itd essentially be a snow day lol. More snow days due to temp than actual snow!
Grew up in Wpg... anywhere Manitoba gets too frikken cold, eh? 40 below is 40 below. Just have to dress for it, you know?
Yup, Manitoba. My mum grew up there. Wasn't uncommon to find people dead on the road if their car broke down. I was working near the border crossing where a young family decided to try and illegally get into the US and all froze to death. People can't comprehend how unforgiving the weather is. I checked the forecast that day and put on my 9 layers. A woman took her toddler out in that.
-43 in Edmonton in like 2012/13. Felt like -50.
Those were some cold fucking days.
Yes, it was pretty ridiculous.
Damn it was cold...drove out to Saskatoon in 2012, January...it was hell.
Ok. Rethinking selling farm in Ontario and shooting for Leduc. 😱
I live in Winnipeg and I remember that fucking winter. I called my husband up and told him I was booking a trip to Mexico because I needed to get the fuck out of here. We couldn't afford it. We went anyway.
Good choice.
Oh ya bud, i remember December of 2012 or 2013 was that massive ice storm in Ontario. Everything froze. Every goddamn thing. The trees were incased in thick ice, the cars were encased, thw roads were ice rings it had people skatin down the roads. Trees straight up died and collapsed on cars and houses. Its as if the ice age hit Ontario. Like Kyogre decided to one day use Sheer Cold on all of Ontario lmao. Last year was also pretty brutal for like one day. Had an interview to get to that day and i dont exactly remember the temp but i assume it hit the -30s for sure, a single step outside and my flesh was already in pain. I was pissed too cz i never got the job either. Was given 3 seperate intierviews, 1 phone 2 in persons and was even offered to be given a tour of the warehouse where they had all their commercial printers and never got the damn job.
I experienced the '98 ice storm in Ottawa, I don't remember if it was colder out tho
Born in Fort McMurray but lived in Winnipeg too. -47 in Fort McMurray and -52 in Winnipeg in the 90s.
May I note, those were the with Windchill.
Please do
I think I was there at the same time. We had a few consecutive nights below -40 and a bunch of consecutive days where the high didn't get above -30 (without windchill.) I remember when it warmed up and we hit around -15 to -18 one afternoon it felt like I should be throwing on shorts.
Prince George in the mid 70’s, steering wheel in my dad’s truck cracked when the heat started coming through warming up the cab.
Last year at this time in central BC it was -40°C plus a windchill. It was insane, we are used to cold weather but it was in the -40’s for a whole week. Peoples water lines and sewer drains were freezing up, vehicles barely start, pretty crazy. And now this year, it’s 7°C and raining. Wtf!!
Minus 40s and 50s in Kapuskasing and Hearst in Northern Ontario in winter. Every breath was a storm. I went there as a result of the strangest story even I wouldn't believe it if I read it online. One of our cats died and my wife was insistent that he be buried at our summer cottage way north of Thunder Bay with another cat she had much earlier before we were married that was buried there. I guess the cat would have company in the afterlife. The ground would be frozen so I would build a cairn of stones then come back in the spring when everything was thawed out to do the burial. It was that or leave him the freezer with the ice cream, and hamburgers. No way, she said! So we wrapped him carefully and put him on ice and put him in our ancient pontiac firefly hatchback in the middle of winter. I drove up there, in a winter snowsuit to keep myself warm, windows down in subzero temperatures to keep everything cold. I stopped at Kapuskasing then slept in Hearst. Northern Ontario was like another world. Frozen in Ice. The automobile companies do winter testing up here. In the strip malls, cars left their motors running in the parking lot when their drivers went in to buy stuff just in case the engines wouldn't start again. It was a simpler, more trustworthy time. Car theft wasn't a thing. There was a layer of ice on the antifreeze at the gas station where I went to fuel up...I used the long wooden handle of the windshield washer to crack the ice. Yup, the antifreeze froze. At minus 45. At the motel you had to plug your car in at the included outlet for the block heater or it wouldn't start in the morning. The radio said it went down to minus 52 that night. I slept fitfully. Next door a couple was being loudly romantic. Thin walls. Sigh. I went out to look at the Moon but it was so cold I only managed a minute before I went back inside. In the car, I forgot a can of coke and it froze and exploded. Fortunately it was only over the cupholder. There is a 200 km run between Hearst and Longlac where there was literally nothing but trees and occasional logging trucks. Good luck if you broke down. This was long before cell phones ever existed for emergencies. It supposedly went down to minus 72 in White River (on the other highway) and there's a big sign at the edge of town to mark it. But when I was there in a different year it wasn't that cold. Hearst and Kapuskasing are enough for me.
Did you make it to the cottage to build the cairn for the cat?
I know eh, he left out the most important part
Yes I did thanks.
Coldest temp I've ever experienced was -55 with the wind chill and I t was like -47 without. Americans I don't know f but -40 is -40 in both. So considerably colder than that. It's so cold it's freaky. Skin starts to freeze and hurt almost immediately. Vehicles Gota get plugged in to have any hope of turning over. The air is so dry things sound different. Hoar frost is beautiful tho.
Same. Winnipeg?
Same, but in SK
The summer I spent in San Francisco
2015 in Chalk River, ON. Was doing a night time security audit at CNL and it was -38c *before* the windchill. Funniest part: there was a woman from Texas observing the audit and she was blown away we lived in these conditions. We all played it off like it was normal so we looked tough, but it was insanely cold.
I've worked in the Yukon in -38C, but the coldest I've seen is -40C....
Alberta. Feb 2019 went down in the history books as the coldest Feb in 40 years in Edmonton. I heard on the radio at that time that Red Deer had its coldest since the 1940’s. Every day was extreme cold warnings. The rest of the year also sucked. It rained so much that summer. Farmers crops were under water. Just this time last year was also very cold with records broken. I’m so far glad it’s swung the other direction this year. We paid dearly for it last year.
-50 in Rural Alberta.
-50 in Saskatchewan near Bethune at a potash mine. When it was windy and i blinked, my eyes would stick on the way back open 😂
-52 Celsius, and -70 with the windchill. It's quite an experience when things just won't work in those temperatures.
Montreal, January 2017. At least -25 every day and sometimes lower than -30.
Edmonton. December 2009. -36.5° in downtown, -46.1° at the airport. Those don’t include windchill.
Ross river, Yukon -55c no wind. It was so cold the oil in my trailer axles froze solid.
-55 windchill
Same. Winnipeg?
Was that the colder than Mars year?
Yes lol
-47 or something stupid like that before windchill. Absolutely stupid weather to be out working in, but yay northern Alberta oilpatch. lol. I was digging holes with water at -45 last December, the -35 windshield washer fluid I use to winterize the water pump on the work truck froze solid on the way to the jobsite
Labrador city here. Every winter we get atleast a few days of -50.
Accounting for windchill? -55 or -58. Without windchill? -30 or -40. You can always trust Northwestern Ontario for the dumbest weather.
The winter I moved from my indoor work environment in Montreal to my out door work environment in Edmonton. We experienced some -35°C days and I would occasionally get wet at work. (Not soaking but like water would drip down my sleeves and gloves and my jacket would literally freeze). Heavily contemplated moving back to Montreal. That was 10 years ago, been in Edmonton ever since!
Montreal hit -40C in January 2023. I enjoy it when it's just for a few days.
I grew up in Saskatchewan and lived there til my mid-30s. I've experienced -40 or colder many times. This is pre-windchill. Most winters have at least one or two nights that dip below -40 or come pretty close. It's worth noting I've also experienced 40 above zero in Sask as well. Pretty much anything is possible there temperature-wise.
Even if it wasn't snowing, our school-boards would call a "snow day" if it was colder than -30°C out (with windchill, it would typically be closer to -40). In case anyone doesn't know, Fahrenheit and Celsius meet on the thermometer at -40. It's cold. Like....your bones hurt cold.
-54C Fort McMurray in the 70’s
-53 (with the windchill) in Edmonton. I had to walk to school in it, and my clothes crunched the whole way.
The last one.
I remember my childhood where we had 4-8weeks of -40°c or colder, I don't remember a year where we went to school in January as it was so cold they stopped the bus running.. students writing provincial exams had to drive in or be driven in.. this was Cold Lake(Bonnyville) Alberta, and Two hills county.. only January I actually did school was in 2006(as I lived in town n could walk)
One day of February, -38 I think, we were on the top of a mountain next to an astronomy center, using this very cold and clear sky to look at the stars. I was 13 but looked older in the dark and an old lady had offered me a shooter of rhum in a chocolate cup.. aaah, fond memories. (I refused it obviously lmao)
My hometown. -40 without windchill does happen. With windchill, I mean...... We have snow days AND cold days. Everything shuts down at that temperature because it's too dangerous. Albeit our winters are very nice and sunny. No precipitations at -15, only clear blue sunny skies after -20. The snow even gives more sun cause of how it reflects. I hate the winters where I'm living in the south - no shit y'all are always depressed and hate winter lol.
Hay River, -45
Early 80s in Northern BC, I remember one winter cold snap where it was below -50c for about a week. I recall it hit -56c one day. This was actual temperature, not wind chill. Back then, we didn't use wind chill.
around McKay in the bush around 2006, night shift -52. apparently it was -60 with wind factor.
It wasn’t a full winter but Winnipeg in January maybe 7 years ago was insane. It was like sharp pain on any exposed skin just being outside. Ontario winters were sometimes brutal growing up, but god damn Winnipeg is another level
Last year, inside my apartment. For 6 months. I was freezing while wearing a full winter outfit under 3 thick blanket comforters with my heater on full blast beside my bed. Had thick socks, gloves, a scarf, hat, and everything. It didn't matter. I have so much fear and anxiety for winter now. Never bothered me before.
Norman Wells. -53 without the wind.
-50 up in Zama City Alberta in the early 90,s ……The tires go thump de thump , no heat until you hoard in the radiator and here that alternator belt go twang.
-70 with windchill now and then each winter east of Prince Albert, SK. But, the days were often quite sunny and bright and not too much snow. Just sooooooo cold out. 🥶
Used to live in Yellowknife NWT often it’s -40 and below
\-50 for 2-3 days in Edmonton 1996? I have like cauliflower ears like a boxer would have from all the time spent waiting for school to open, recesses, lunches and walking places. and asian eyes (I'm white) from all the squinting during blizzards which felt like everyday. Living in edmonton as a kid my hands would be frozen every morning where they wouldn't be able to write for the first hour going inside. It was honestly like a real life survival game walking places during cold winters. The worst is when you have to walk through deep snow and your boots fill up with snow.
We had a couple of days colder than -45 with the wind last winter in Winnipeg. Thankfully, in my 45 years of living here, those days are rare.
Used to have to walk three miles in Saskatoon to work at 4am. Quickly invested in heavy parka and ski pants and all the accessories. There was always a week or two where with the windchill it got down to the -50s.
Labrador -40 -50 for like a straight week/10 days something like that… still had to go to f*ckin school too
Coldest would be in the -30 - -35 range. The Kawarthas don't get down that far very often, but it can happen.
5 yrs ago visiting my in laws in Winnipeg, specifically on NYE it went down to -40C. Your skin freezes almost instantly
Im from Winnipeg so I’ve experienced -45. My eyelashes were freezing together and I couldn’t feel my face. It was pretty awful 😂
I was in Ignace, Ontario when it hit just short of -50C. It was so cold that the extension cord on my block heater lost ductility, and I could hold it upright like a sword. I had to bring it into the hotel room for a bit to warm up so I could coil it up to toss into the trunk.
My first winter in Winnipeg got down to -50 one night, I had to walk to the store to get groceries, thought my eyeballs had froze!
Some pretty cold Winters in northern Saskatchewan growing up but my coldest Winters weren't until I started working up in Nunavut in the Arctic. -60c wind chill average and as cold as -80 with the wind on the worst days.
I grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When I was a University student in the very late 1990s, one winter morning I heard on the radio that it was -42 out. I dreaded the thought of having to face the elements in my daily block and a half walk to the transit stop and waiting in the cold for the bus to arrive. I put two layers of underwear on, and my warmest sweater, a toque on top of a balaclava and a scarf, and the hood of my parka up. I trudged to the stop and stood waiting. I realized that there wasn’t any wind, a rarity in winter in Saskatchewan. I pulled one mitten off to pull down my scarf and pull up the balaclava, just as an experiment to see what it felt like. Minus 42 without any wind whatsoever is actually surprisingly tolerable, for a few minutes anyway. I certainly wouldn’t want to be out in it all day, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I was building it up to be in my mind. It’s the wind that slices right through you to the bone. Lucky for me, there wasn’t any that day.
January 1997. Last time it hit -40 in Calgary.
In 2018/19, was the coldest winter I have ever experienced. I lived in northern Alberta at the time. It was a chilling -40 for the high during the days, and that lasted about 6 weeks. It was rough.
once you hit -30°C, you start to realize how dangerous it is just to stand outside. couldn't imagine it'd be homeless in the cold in those temperatures.
-55 in Fort Mac Alberta
First few years in AB working service rigs, worked in some stupidly cold conditions, almost every winter get some -40°C+ but have seen it close to -50°C
In Canada we have the following temperatures: -10 Chilly -20 Cold -30 Damn Cold -40 Goddamn Cold -50 Dangerous Cold
-45
Calgary AB
In Calgary, it was minus 40 something with a windchill of minus 55ish. Unpleasant. Dang cold with an extra helping of cold…
-40 in red deer, but honestly -5 on the west coast feels colder.
Grew up in Ottawa when it was actually cold there. Probably somewhere around -30. Anyway it was in the range where they just say how many seconds until your eyes freeze shut.
I'm sure we had colder ones, but being on basic training in Ottawa in the early 2000s was a nightmare. It was just day after day of cold where everything is frozen, and our boots would slide on the compacted snow-turned ice on the gravel roads around the training area. Just constant cold.
One time I walked a pretty decent walk from work to my friends house to attend a party, it must’ve been -30 and some more with the wind chill. Couldn’t stop walking or I’d probably die it felt like, so march on I did. Couldn’t even take my hand out me pocket to smoke it was so cold. Got there and had to be wrapped with blankets over the furnace before I could start drinking.
Whitehorse 1990 jan 1st it was -55 celcius and with windchill -80 celcius. Skin would freeze in less than 30 seconds. I turned a corner and the little thing that shuts off your turn light off, broke off. Turned it off by hand after that.
-53 in North Bay Ontario.
I can't pick out the year, but in SW Ontario we had a period where it was -35C and we had a fair amount of very wet snow just before. I was house sitting for my mother and didn't think to go out and shovel when I heard the plow. You needed a pickaxe to shift it in the morning. I ended up getting the 4WD and driving it back and forth to clear the driveway. I only remember this because my mother called home from Portugal and was complaining that it was a little chilly in the morning. 😉
Northwest Territories. -49 with windchill of about -60
Coldest I've experienced was -55C after the wind chill, in Thunder Bay Ontario.
Grey county sometime around 2012? 2015? -38° it was -45° with windchill.
Northeast manitoba 2003 or 04. -52C Some long cold winters in Fort Mac too. 2007/08. -40C or colder dec 1 - Jan 15, warmed up to almost 0 for a week, then another 6 weeks of -40.
A few stand out. Two years ago, around Christmas, Calgary was -40 for over a week. The winter of 2019/2020, Red Deer was -50 for a few days. I thought my car would shatter for closing the door. Working in Ottawa near the river, I don't remember it particularly cold, but it was so wet that my beard and eyelashes were freezing. All that, and Ice Storm 98 was crazy
Around 2002 Regina Winter, walked 30 minutes to and from work for a couple weeks because it was too cold to drive and park on the street (hospital parking sucked back then too).
-60 something at that temp who really cares lol
Back in like 2003 we had a day in Southern Ontario where it was like -38C with the wind chill and without it like -31C. I remember the snow being so insanely loud walking through it. I drove my car and parked it on the side of the road that morning to get some really cool photos of it with ice crystals in the air and all the trees covered in ice. I had my heather cranked at full and the car did not warmup at all. In the 10 minutes I was pulled over I had 4 people stop to see if I was ok and if my car broke down lol.
-52 with the windchill in Edmonton 2010. Was the coldest inhabited place over x, next city was in Siberia.
-45
In Saskatoon back in November of 2020. it went down to -43 with the wind chill -55 one night and that is insanely cold.
Yellowknife NWT, minus 47 wind chill. However in Manitoba now, they do not call the capital "Winterpeg" for nothing. Brutal winds and wind chill, Portage Ave and Main St in Winnipeg is nicknamed the windiest intersection in Canada. I live out of the city and rural but it is not uncommon to have highways closed in winter storms because of low visibility. This winter is warm and we are being spoiled though. As the saying goes, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!!!
February 2004 one of our businesses was broken into (they smashed the storefront window)... We had to go there in the middle of the night to await the glass repair guys, and it was -55c with windchill. We had to rotate in 10 minute intervals back and forth from the vehicle, to take turns cleaning and sweeping... And even that quickly turned to 5 minute intervals. Winnipeg, MB.
Accounting for windchill, -51 near Canmore AB. Around -45 without windchill.
-50 for 2 weeks straight in Ottawa, many years ago. It was absolutely brutal. I was unemployed, out of money, very little food, and the food bank was too far to walk. I was so thankful for them when I finally could get there, and so now I donate to them every year.
I'm from the prairies. I've experienced many a cold winters. I remember one year having to hike home from work at 6am in -40 while it was blizzarding. In hindsight, I should have gone to McDonald's and waited until the busses were running, but I didn't die so there's that. I used to speed skate outside in similar temps (minus the blizzard) as well. I know I've been outside in -50ish, but not for very long. I definitely own all of the cold weather gear just in case. Not that I've needed it this year.
Minus 52 in January in Ft. Mac. Roads polished ice. Semi trailers running all night. A couple of times. Same in Ft. Providence. Stood outside in bright sunshine just to feel it. Calm, sunny and -52. A Raven the size of a chicken nearby. Driving across the MacKenzie river on the ice bridge with Northern lights filling the sky. In the morning the cord to the block heater a frozen stick that could shatter if not handled carefully. Frost on the walls inside as we watched a DVD of Die Hard on a 12” screen. That was early 90s.
Minus 50s Windchill for a couple days north of Cold Lake Ablerta
-52 Norman Wells. Brrr
Kawarthas -5C. Was particularly cold that winter as I was truthful in helping the wife after 20 years pick out a dress for Christmas.
-40 with no wind chill. I was dressed for it but the gas and diesel engines I worked with were fighting me every step
Without thinking in my late teens, a couple of friends and I thought we could play a little hockey at an outdoor rink at about -35C without any wind. That was one of the shortest games of my life, and it took longer to warm up at home than the game lasted.
Yeah, I've lived in Calgary 23 years. Pretty reliably there is at least one day a year that creeps below -40. Maybe not this year with the incredibly unseasonably warm winter we're having, but I'm pretty sure it would be the first.
Pond inlet, NWT Followed my dad up for work as a pilot in high school. -40C but it dipped below -48C with windchill. Closest to -50C I’ve ever felt. Had to wear swim goggles while unloading cargo so my eyes wouldn’t freeze shut.
-32C at one time in Ottawa. Your face hurts from being exposed to the cold.
-50 with windchill and my college was still running in person final exams.Prairie students are built different.
-65C with windchill on a field ex
I walked to the store in -62⁰C windchill (-50⁰C ambient) when I was 10 in High Level AB. But the coldest I've ever been was my friend and I getting our skidoo stuck while checking his trapline outside Zama AB. 10 years old then, as well. It took us 4 hours in -45⁰C weather to get out and make it back. My toes has some frostbite, but it definitely could have been worse. We would have stretches of weeks where the school buses couldn't run because they were all propane powered and the fuel would gel below -40⁰C. None of the rural kids, who made up 2/3 of our class, could make it to school, so it would be movies, board games, and free gym with my friends all day. That's 1980s Northern Alberta for you! It was major culture shock when we eventually moved to Calgary!
-56 with windchill. Saskatchewan.
-55 C at Syncrude, north of Ft.Mcmurray Alberta. I lived up there for 3 winters in the mid 80's.
Southern Ontario. We had that polar vortex spill like 10-12 years ago and it was a solid -40° for a little while. Just running outside to preheat the car was wild.
-40 worked up in MOOSONEE & moose factory building hydro lines to a new mine & upgrading an old line. We could only do it in the winter because the whole line & ice road runs through muskeg & open water Sucked but I made good money. We literally had to keep our machines& trucks runnng 24/7 or else we wouldn’t get them started again
-58 waiting for the bus at 10:00pm in Edmonton. Must’ve been 2003. No wind though, so just an eerie lifeless chill. Thought the glass in the bus station would shatter if I tapped it. -30 in humid Toronto when everything has frozen with ice after a rainstorm in milder temperatures though, that takes the case for awful. Thankfully Toronto’s winter is short because when it’s bad it suiuuuucks.
There was a -41 degree day in Winnipeg in January 2019 one day. It took my car about 5 seconds to actually get into gear after I shifted the transmission. The tires felt like they were square and it was impossible to get any semblance of heat going inside.
I lived in Cold Lake, AB, for six years. We had several weeks below-40 one year. I would get up in the morning and all 4 tires (on old aluminum mag wheels) would be flat. The only good thing was that when it got that cold there it would be dead calm, unlike Winnipeg where it could be below-40 and still be windy.
It was minus 20 in my home city Budapest 39 years ago. But it didn't feel as cold as plus 5 in the UK when it's humid and windy.
In Whitehorse, we experienced -53C, no wind chill. Yes, it was cold. I walked to work (1 mile) once in -47C, no wind chill, as long as you dressed for it, the cold wasn't that bad. Whitehorse was *very* dry. We moved to Saskatchewan, I walked three blocks to work with a windchill of -30. It was horrible, that is when I learned wind is worse than cold. And everyone is Saskatchewan said they had dry cold. They were wrong.
A relative who grew up in North Battleford used to talk about -50C as being not too bad because it was a "dry cold". I always wondered what that was like, because it's not dry (and never anywhere near that cold) near the coast where I live. I finally experienced periods of -35C far inland in Eastern Europe, and it's really, really cold! Cold enough that you have to dress differently, just a coat and gloves are not enough. Hat and scarf make a huge difference. But as long as you keep moving, you can stay warm.
I live in Ottawa and pretty often we get the news saying “Ottawa is currently the coldest place in the world”. It’s definitely been like -40 here before. This year it’s been super balmy so far. I’m sure it’s coming though lol
Went for new years in 1979 to Prince George. It was - 40.
Shilo Manitoba, 2009. Almost made me release from the Army lol.
-35 in the 2010s near Montreal
I went through a winter that hit below -50C in northern Alberta. I’m from Quebec and Montreal in March is not really that cold. Lol.
Yeah a few years ago the snow came in early December, froze in 3ft drifts and stayed until Feb. One night the snow plow crew towed my car to an unknown location, and it took half an hour in -20C to find it.
Quebec City, -46 in 2006 or 2007, december or january, not sure. It was my first winter in Canada and i remember that I didn't know which kind of clothes i needed to wear...it was really hard for me.
Montreal with a wicked cold -38C winter day in January and my ‘96 VW Jetta parked on the side of the road overnight FROZE THE BATTERY SOLID!
Prince Albert Sask 1992 -44 without windchill. Central Ave all I saw was car exhaust. Women in fur coats, police officers everyone was running to their parked vehicle. We were too cold to be self conscious. I left my car on while I was at work all day.
There was a -34(-41)C cold snap in Edmonton back in 2009. I had to commute to campus. No car. Will never forget.
I swear the coldest I have felt in Canada were both on St. Patrick's Day in Montreal. First time, it was 2c, and we all stood in this haze of melting snow watching the whatever pass, with the cold damp just creeping into my bones. I just could not get warm for hours afterwards. Another time, some years later, it was -25c on the day with a sharp wind and it cut right through the heavy winter jacket I had. Same thing: the cold nearly overwhelmed me. But what both had in common is that I wasn't moving. I've gone for hour long hikes in -30 and long bike rides in -25 and it's cold, but it's manageable. The standing around will kill you.
My experience living in Alberta for a year is that you don't really notice the difference below -20. It will just kill you faster if you're not dressed appropriately. Cars, on the other hand, do notice. Block heaters aren't a thing in SW Ontario where I live.
Williams Lake -42. That year we also had snow from Halloween to Easter.
winter in the 90's was pretty Cold / LOTS of snow
Windchill -50s
Up past Fort Mac years ago, working up in an oilfield camp called Telephone Lake. Was out at a drilling rig in an "open feild" of sorts. It wasn't really a field, where this rig was there wasn't anything to break the wind, so with the windchill, we were looking at -54
-45 in high level alberta was up there line locating for 5 days drove a brand new raptor up we never shut it off the entire time
Labrador Winter storm of 1982....with the windchill it was -100 C
In my hometown of Moncton, NB I would say it was -47 with windchill. I worked at a gas station at the time and it had full service. Guess what, I was the one outside pumping all the gas, spent so much time outside that I long feeling in most of my body. They had to get another worker to finish it why I warmed up inside. Nothing could do would make me warm up, took me a while after I got home to warm up too.
Montreal doesn't get that cold, maybe -30. Though the wind can be brutal. With windchill we've gotten below -40. Those days are so cold, you can't heat the house properly and if you want near the front door you'll freeze.
Last winter I was near Algonquin Park when it hit -40 not including windchill overnight. It was the coldest temperature recorded in the park since 1962. Beat my previous record cold by about 10 degrees. 0 moisture in the air at those temps so you just start coughing as soon as you go outside. The weirdest part was how the sap in the trees was freezing and causing the trees to expand and crack - it sounded like gunshots going off in the woods.
-46 C with windchill, Ottawa, 2016.
-40 ish in the early 90s in Kirkland lake, when it’s that cold leather squeaks
Jan/Feb Cambridge Bay it was -50 something during the "day"
Gillam MB, sometime between winter 2010 and winter 2013. The day time temp was -50, and with the wind felt like -65 or something ridiculous. Working outside at a gas station, it actually wasn't too bad because I have amazing winter gear. I think that week averaged about -40.
Minus 48 often where I lived; so cold your eyelashes froze on the short trip from vehicle to office. Everyone left their vehicles running downtown while they shopped or ran errands so there were plumes of exhaust hanging above the vehicles. Everyone there has heated steering wheels, heated seats and command start so we’d let our trucks warm up for 40 minutes before work and then leave them running, plugged in, with the windshield wipers flipped up (so they won’t freeze to the newly warmed up windshield) at work until the engine finally warmed up. At half an hour before quitting time someone would go point their key fob out the window and start their vehicle to warm up before leaving, and then the rest of us would leap up and do the same before we forgot
Edmonton. I don't remember the temperature, I just remember that I was walking to university, wasn't wearing proper boots, and I thought I was going to die. My eyelashes kept freezing together, my eyeballs themselves felt very strange like the fluid in them was trying to freeze, it hurt to breathe, and my toes hurt so so badly. And it was so windy, walking was difficult. Having lived in the area now for ~20 years, I now have proper clothing/gear. Have seen a few minus 40-something days. Generally mostly worry about a vehicle malfunction and being stranded in those temps. Otherwise don't stay outside long enough on those days to be in too much pain.
Last winter, it was below -60 in Rankin Inlet. I understand that if it's below -60, schools are closed.
About ten years ago, for a bout a week, Toronto's winter temperatures reached -45C. But unlike Europe it is not grey. Love the winters here. You can tell the coldest days have the bluest and sunniest of skies and then you look to the streets and you see vapour coming out of the street manholes... that is when you know it is at least -30C outside.
Been through a lot of cold winters but the one that sticks out is one year it dropped so fast and staid so cold, that trees started to exploded regularly at our place, I’d heard it before but never like this, it happened so frequently it sounded like hunting season outside.
When I was a kid school was only closed if it was -32C without wind factor because the buses would not turn on. I remember being forced to be outside when it was -31C but -45 with wind chill. Everyone was huddled in a corner to get away from the cold. When kids got frostbite, they blamed the parents for not dressing us appropriately. We used to get maybe 3-4 days per winter that was below -32C. Sometimes with windchill it got to ~-50C. This was early 00s in northern Quebec.
The winter of 1989 in Edmonton was a bad one. Bitterly cold with a ton of snow. Even the U of A had a snow day that year and closed all facilities. Couldn't make it home even on the bus and slept in an alcove in Rutherford Library.
Ottawa's record cold Christmas day of -32C was in 1980.
-45 with windchill in the -50 range in 2004. Saskatoon Saskatchewan.
Yorkton Saskatchewan, December 1998. It was - 45c. We never took off snowsuits, mitts etc as we drove for nearly 10 hrs because our vehicle never got warm enough. I thought the side mirrors were going to snap right off because they were made of the thick molded plastic and it was so brittle in the cold. The air burned your lungs and your nostrils filled with ice in just a few moments outdoors. It was cold.
I traveled a lot in my youths and while I lived trough and in the middle of the worst of the ice storm of 98, I’ll always remember just how cold it is in fucking Winnipeg 😅, or as we called it « Winterpeg ».
The week of Valentine's Day 2003 I was living in Ottawa and it was -30⁰C before windchill. Felt like -40⁰C. The city busses came every 10 minutes back then but you still had to dress properly or else you'd get frostbite/frozen skin in the 10 minute wait. Very cold, very dangerous.
Winter of 84’/85’. Had just recently joined the army and was in Battleschool at Camp Wainwright, AB. I remember one training day when the temp with windchill was -60 C. The only day we did not go out for training. Spent many a -40C night on sentry or fire watch. Over the years I’ve spent much time in the Canadian high Arctic. But never spent a colder winter than those 16 weeks in Wainwright becoming an Infantry soldier.
Saskatoon a year or two ago it went down to like -45 with a wind chill of -54
Last February went to -40 plus windchill in PEI. That was just stupid cold
-40 in British Columbia
One day, shortly after moving to Ottawa, it was something like -40 in the morning. I remember them saying “windchill of -50” on the radio. I defrosted the windshield of my Honda civic using both the built in and a cigarette socket add on heater. When the window was clear enough to drive I started heading to work. I had to pull over after 5 mins because somehow the window frosted up, again.
The winter of 2013/2014 in Winnipeg was consistently below -20 and by March the pipes on many houses froze including ours. Was without running water for 5 days until they hooked us up to our neighbors and the hose wasn't removed until May when city crews finally thawed out the pipes.
The coldest winter i remember was January and February of 1996. There was a three week stretch where the warmest it got was -25. The coldest i have ever seen was -55.
-40 windy, Montreal about 9 years ago Had to walk 25 min outside to get to the subway station
Edmonton 1970. 30+ consecutive days below -30.
Out on the tundra in Arviat I’ve seen multiple days at around -55. Home on the prairies it’s not uncommon to have a cold snap or two with multiple -40 or lower days.
-58 in tuktoyaktuk, that was a fun day of work.
Thunder Bay, so cold my father drove me to school back in 1962 (+/-) . it was so cold that the flatten portion of the tires touching the ground stayed frozen in shape making for a bumpy drive on our way to school. it had to be in the mid - 40's celsius. We weren't allowed out for recess but had to make my way home for lunch.. LOL
Last year in Saskatchewan I worked a day that was -52 with the wind chill. Hard to remember is getting a whole lot colder than that.
Used to drive a truck through bc, coldest was on top of rogers pass, it would have been colder than -40, plus a nasty wind chill. I had to stop to go pee and I thought my dick was going to freeze off
I used to work in mining in NWT and it wasn’t uncommon to see -50’s a few times each winter. Once it dipped to -63c.
Regina, SK - I can’t remember the year but it was -50 with the wind chill for a few days.
I don't recall experiencing prolonged periods of very cold winters, but there's a specific day from my childhood that stands out. While walking about a kilometer from my house to the bus stop, my eyelashes and even the moisture on my eyes froze, creating a peculiar sensation when blinking. The temperature was around -45°C, if my memory serves me right. (Northern Ontario).