An extreme cold weather warning was in effect for St. Paul, and almost the entire province of Alberta, during the Christmas holidays. The warning was issued because cold temperatures, or wind chills, created an elevated risk to health, and exposed a higher hazard to frostbite and hypothermia.
An official release regarding the warning from Environment Canada suggested watching out for cold related symptoms. This includes shortness of breath, muscle and chest pain, and numbness and colour change in fingers and toes.
Being prepared for emergencies can go a long way into determining the outcome. If a vehicle breaks down, for example, it is always good to have an emergency kit, at all times.
One year ago, cold temperatures also blanketed the area during the Christmas season. But, this year’s cold snap proved to be more harsh than 2016.
During the stretch of Dec. 21 to 27 in 2016, the coldest temperature averaged out to -27.1 degrees Celsius. This year, however, the coldest temperature averaged out to -35.4 degrees Celsius, an 8.3-degree difference.
Running the same test for the days between Dec. 12 to 19 for 2016 and 2017, this year was warmer by 11 degrees. This shows that the last few weeks the weather has gone through extreme change, from one end of the spectrum - abnormally warm - to the other, intangibly cold.
“We’ve been going literally day and night,” says Dale Hedrick, owner of Hedrick Auto & Towing. The increase in calls that have come into his business over during the cold spell was “crazy.”
Simply put – “It’s cold,” he says, with a laugh. The cold weather makes for everything to happen slower than normal, he adds. The hydraulics on his tow truck, for example, run slower in the extreme cold.
He notes that for people who had AMA, the calls were taking exponentially longer to reach him since there was a backlog across the province. He encourages people to call tow trucks directly when faced with extreme weather conditions.
Another tip Hedrick offered was for motorists to know their vehicle. He estimated that about half the calls he had been receiving during the cold spell were due to people not knowing what their block heater was.
If people aren’t plugging in their vehicles, “it’s like starting an ice cube,” says Hedrick.
RCMP was also reminding people to take proper precautions when heading out during this past cold spell, and in the future.
“St. Paul RCMP want to remind the public to not leave their vehicles unattended while they are running. These vehicles are easy targets for theft. With the recent cold snap, these crimes are considered crimes of opportunity. The St. Paul RCMP want to remind the public that criminals are actively looking for easy vehicles to steal,” according to information from Cpl. Ronald Bumbry, media relations officer.
Vehicles that are left running and unlocked outside of homes, grocery stores, or even gas stations make for easy targets for criminals, reads the information.
“It only takes a few seconds for someone to sit in the driver’s seat and take off with your vehicle. These vehicle thefts are often preventable.”
Despite the cold weather experienced over Christmas, some residents still managed to get their dose of fresh air.
Christin Zappitelli posted a photo on the Journal’s Facebook page of her family enjoying the tobogganing hill in St. Paul on Dec. 27, while others posted that they were just hopeful that their vehicles or farm equipment would start in the extreme cold.
Four years ago, Danielle Boudreau lost her son to the cold weather. Although specific details were sparse, it is believed that on Jan. 1, 2014, her son, Sean, left a house party in St. Paul on foot.
With temperatures dipping to -25 degrees Celsius that night, Sean may have tried to find somewhere to warm up, but was instead exposed to the elements, and his body was later found in a small storage shed.
Boudreau would like to once again remind residents to watch out for each other, and “Make sure to always have people safe, with a ride or more then one person when leaving a party, so nobody ends up falling or passing out outside.”
She adds, “It’s important to be mindful of how quick hypothermia can set in.”
