Maybe the snowfall, icy surfaces, and poor driving conditions just aren’t enough. Maybe you’re standing there in flip-flops with a dumb look on your face, saying to yourself, “Duh, it just doesn’t feel like winter in Windsor-Essex.”
Good news! The forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday involves temperatures so cold they could break records set 50 years ago.
As of Monday afternoon, Environment Canada’s weather office is predicting thermometers in Windsor-Essex to drop to a low of -20 C on Tuesday night, and a low of -23 C on Wednesday night.
According to historical weather data, the coldest Jan. 29 in Windsor on record was in 1963, when the low was -20.6 C.
The coldest Jan. 30 in Windsor on record was in 1951, which also had a low of -20.6 C.
The average low for this time of year is -8.3 C.
Just five years ago, in 2013, Windsor set records in the opposite direction: We enjoyed the area’s warmest Jan. 29 and 30 ever, with highs of 14.5 C and 15.6 C.
Traffic is slow going at Wyandotte Street East and Parent Avenue as a snowstorm blankets the region on Jan. 28, 2019.
Gimme Shelter
Hypothermia and frostbite are real risks for humans outdoors in truly sub-zero conditions like the kind the region is enduring now.
The City of Windsor reminds the public that there are emergency shelters in the community open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Downtown Mission (664 Victoria Ave.) offers a place to stay for men, women, and families. The Salvation Army (355 Church St.) houses men, and the Welcome Centre Shelter (263 Bridge Ave.) is available for women and families.
Trevor Zanutto skates with the puck at Lakewood Park where he was playing pond hockey with friends Nick Larose, Jaxon Turnbull and Cooper Turnbull, right. The boys were enjoying a ‘snow day’ off from school.
All these flavours and you chose to be salty
Did you know that road salt loses its effectiveness at ambient temperatures below -13 C?
Sodium chloride — otherwise known as salt — works as a de-icer by creating brine, which prevents snow and ice from bonding with pavement.
However, the process needs moisture to work. When it gets too cold, there’s not enough moisture to start the melting.
Calcium chloride in liquid form can be mixed with salt to jumpstart the melting process, but it increases the cost and the mixture becomes very detrimental to certain types of road surfaces.
Tom Lucier, owner of Phog Lounge, is pictured behind the bar with a pint of beer on Jan. 28, 2019.
Enjoy the phreeze at Phog
One downtown Windsor bar is using the cold snap as an advertising opportunity: Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West) hopes to attract customers on Wednesday and Thursday by offering discounts equal to the frigid temperatures.
For all bills on Jan. 30 and 31, Phog Lounge will take off a percentage equivalent to the thermometer reading as reported by Environment Canada (before wind chill) at time of sale.
Example: If it’s -17 C, you’ll get 17 per cent off your bill. The colder it gets, the more you’ll save!
The discount applies to all beverages and Phog Lounge’s patented poutine dishes.
Netflix and chill
Who would enjoy such inhospitable weather in Windsor-Essex? Perhaps local students, who got to stay home on Monday.
All school boards cancelled their buses on Monday morning due to the snowy forecast, and both the University of Windsor and St. Clair College cancelled their Monday evening classes.
With all labs, continuing education sessions, apprenticeship programs, and even swimming and yoga classes unavailable, students had little else to do but stay home and study… or snuggle.
Maybe the home enjoyment idea could apply in parts of the county, as well, given Kingsville cancelled its Monday night council meeting and Lakeshore cancelled programs at the Atlas Tube Centre.
dchen@postmedia.com
Related
An SUV is towed away while a car lies in the ditch after the two collided on Howard Ave., south of Concession Rd. 8, Monday, January 28, 2019.
Tom Lucier, owner of Phog Lounge, pours a pint of beer behind the bar, Monday, January 28, 2019.
Tom Lucier, owner of Phog Lounge, is pictured behind the bar with a pint of beer, Monday, January 28, 2019.
January 28, 2019 – Postie Anne-Marie Hudak delivers the mail on Avondale Avenue in South Windsor during a heavy snowfall Monday. Hudak says she’s outfitted well and had no issues with the snowy conditions.
Two people clear snow from the sidewalks on Hall Ave., as a snowstorm blankets the region, Monday, January 28, 2019.
Trevor Zanutto, 11, celebrates a goal at Lakewood Park where he was playing pond hockey with friends Nick Larose, 11, left, Cooper Turnbull, 7, and Jaxon Turnbull, 11, right. The boys were enjoying a ‘snow day’ off from school and Aunt Michelle Dobrin (not shown) came along to help out with the shovelling.
A.M. – P.M. Towing operator Matt Brookes hooks a Volkswagen Jetta following a collision on Crawford Avenue near Tecumseh Road West during the afternoon snowfall Monday. Windsor Police also responded to the scene.
Good Samaritans Owen Cote, 17, left, Nathan Redmond, 14, and Nicolas Redmond, 16, right, spent their Monday afternoon shovelling snow for businesses and homeowners on Lesperance Road near Tecumseh Fire Hall. The young men shovelled snow to keep busy on a ‘snow day’ off from school.
A salt truck heads east on E.C. Row Expressay near Dominion Boulevard during Monday’s snow event.
School buses parked during Monday’s snow event. These buses belong to Stevenson Transport on County Road 42.