Snowfall warnings issued as Ottawa-Gatineau remains in deep freeze
Wind chill could make it feel nearly –40
There's a frigid weekend forecast for the Ottawa Valley and eastern Ontario.
With this blast of bitter weather hitting the region, advocates who work with some of the region's most vulnerable are bracing for the cold and fearing for those they support.
As of Saturday afternoon, Environment Canada had yellow-level cold warnings in place for the vast majority of eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
Snowfall warnings were also issued Saturday for Ottawa, Kingston, Ont., and numerous other communities.
Environment Canada was calling for overnight lows around –30 C and wind chill around –40 on Friday and Saturday nights in places such as Ottawa, Gatineau, Que., and Pembroke, Ont.
Saturday's forecasted high of –18 C is below the usual overnight low for late January. It could feel like –28 with the wind (the sun should at least be out).
Saturday night is forecast to be the coldest, with the lows sitting at –29 C for Ottawa and –31 C in Pembroke. In the nation's capital, the wind could make it feel more like –37.
Sunday should have similar daytime highs as Saturday, with Environment Canada also forecasting heavy snow to begin falling in the afternoon in parts of the region.
Ottawa could be blanketed by up to 20 centimetres by the time it tapers off Monday, the weather agency said. Travel will be challenging, especially with wind gusts also hitting up to 50 km/h.
This weekend could also bring Ottawa's coldest day in nearly three years since hitting –33 C on Feb. 4, 2023.
Daytime highs to start the workweek are around –10 C.
Worried about the cold in Kingston
Kingston, Ont., is forecast to be around –20 C and feel like about –35 with wind.
The city is making an overnight warming centre available, though its location hasn't been made public. Those looking to access the site will need to be referred by community groups.
It will have space for up to 20 people, which one advocate says is too low.
"I'm disgusted by the number. Frankly, the number is a disgrace," said Pamela Gray, who works with an organization called Threads of Hope, which provides donated tents, sleeping bags and winter clothes to those in need.
Referrals require people to be aware there's a place for them to go and for them to be able to "behave," Gray said, adding that's not always possible for those who are physically and mentally ill but still need somewhere out of the cold.
"We're looking at the very basics of the very basics, keep keeping people warm to stop them from freezing to death," she said. "Just think about that for a minute ... and we're not even doing that."
Referrals help maximize shelter capacity, a spokesperson for the city said in an email, adding that in a similar cold snap last year, the warming centre only averaged nine people a night.
Officials will monitor capacity over the weekend and apply what they learn to the Kingston's winter response plan, the statement adds.
The city currently has 200 shelter beds.
But the most recent data available from October showed there are 574 names on a list of homeless residents in Kingston. Gray and other advocates maintain the actual number is even higher.
'That's how you die'
John Decourcy has been living rough for nine years and said this winter has been among the hardest he can remember.
"There's nowhere to go," he said.
The 51-year-old's tent recently collapsed in strong winds and heavy snows.
"It's been so bad to where I can't take it," he said in an interview near Belle Park Friday morning. "My hands aren't black and that, but I'm frostbitten to the nines."
Decourcy said he's managed to grab snatches of warmth in building hallways or on buses, but he's not sure what he'll do at night and, based on a recent experience, he's worried.
"I passed out from the cold," he explained. "I said, 'This is really stupid.' Like, that's how you die."
How to protect yourself
Health Canada says the risk of frostbite increases once wind chill makes it feel like –27 or colder.
It recommends that people dress in layers with a wind-resistant outer layer, protecting extremities such as your hands, feel, ears and nose and keeping moving to encourage blood flow.
It also recommends wearing sunglasses, sunscreen and lip balm on sunny days such as Saturday to prevent skin from windburn. The agency also says not to drink alcohol because it can trick you into thinking you're warmer than you are.
Community responses to these kinds of cold conditions vary by municipality or county. Many places encourage people to warm up in community spaces such as libraries in the day, and some cities like Belleville, Ont., and Cornwall, Ont., have opened dedicated overnight warming centres.
Other cities, including Ottawa, have asked people who'd normally sleep outside to go to an emergency or transitional shelter, which has drawn criticism.
The City of Ottawa also maintains a map of places where people can warm up during an extreme cold spell.
Anyone who is seeking a shelter referral or who's trying to get someone else out of the cold can call 311. For medical emergencies like hypothermia, call 911.
Environment Canada is also urging people to take extra time to travel on Sunday, as the snow will make roads and pathways hard to navigate.
With files from Dan Taekema