Toronto shivers under another record-breaking cold morning

It was another record-breaking cold morning in Toronto on Tuesday.

The mercury dropped to -20.4 C at 7 a.m., surpassing the Feb. 24 low of -19.4 C set back in 1993, Environment Canada said in a statement.

“Given the latest forecasts, it appears that stations such as Kitchener and Toronto may experience their first month entirely below freezing since February 1978,” the weather agency said.

On Monday, it was the coldest Feb. 23 on record at Toronto Pearson in over 40 years. Environment Canada said the temperature fell to -21.6 C by 7 a.m., breaking the record low for a Feb. 23 of -19.4 C set in 1972.

Areas including Welland and Ridgetown also broke temperature records on Monday dating back to the late-1800s.

 

Environment Canada lifted its extreme cold warning for Toronto and the GTA around 8 a.m. on Tuesday, saying “conditions are no longer expected to reach extreme cold warning criteria.” The warning was issued on Sunday.

The national forecaster issues the warning for southwestern Ontario when the temperature or wind chill is expected to reach -30 C “for at least two hours.”

680News meteorologist Jill Taylor said it will be cloudy and windy with a chance of flurries. The high will be -9 C, but it will feel like -20 C with the wind this afternoon.

Snow is expected to start early evening, with around one to two centimetres in accumulation. Taylor is calling for a low of near -14 C this evening with a wind chill near -26.

Although temperatures are expected to be a bit milder on Wednesday, with a high near -7 C in the forecast, the colder weather could return on Monday, Taylor said.

Click here for the full weather forecast.

Meanwhile, Toronto’s medical officer of health has extended its extreme cold weather alert for the city, ensuring extra services are made available to the homeless.

An extreme cold weather alert has been in place in Toronto since Feb. 12. So far in 2015, Toronto has been under the alert for 31 days.

Click here for more information on cold weather alerts and the services they trigger.

Below is an interactive chart of statistics on extreme cold weather alerts in Toronto; data courtesy of City of Toronto. Mobile viewers, click here.

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