People Are Sharing Just How Cold Canada Got This Winter, And Here Are 30 Chilly Pics

Extreme cold has hit Canada in January, including -40 °C temperatures (which, coincidentally, is also -40 °F, and if you don’t believe me, just calculate it yourself using the formula °F = °C × [9/5] + 32) in multiple regions. Accompanied by heavy snow, the weather closed down schools and caused electricity shortages, reminding everyone of nature’s might.

To show you what all of that looked like, we put together a list of photos taken during this frigid spell, and if there’s one thing that stands out, it’s the local communities’ ability to adapt and persevere in the face of even the most challenging times.

#1 It’s Cold Enough In Calgary Today That I Used A Frozen Towel As A Toboggan

#2 Calgary, Alberta This Morning! Hot Water Freezes Faster Than Cold Water Due To The “Mpemba Effect”!

In the middle of the month, a polar vortex was sweeping in from the Arctic through the West, while a storm swirling up from Texas was wreaking havoc in the East, leaving millions of Canadians facing snowstorms or severely cold temperatures.

At one point, roughly half of the country was under extreme weather warnings.

#3 When Asked “How Cold Is It, Actually?” Show Them This

#4 My Thermometer Has Bottomed Out. Actual Temperature Is -44c

#5 Just Another Day In Calgary

“We’ve got really, really, really cold air coming down from the Arctic in the west. And then in the East, we have this really potent weather system that’s coming up from the south,” Jesse Wagar, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said at the time.

According to Wagar, in the wintertime, the country does get dynamic weather patterns, but these were “pretty unusual.”

#6 Clothing Outside In Calgary, Alberta, Canada

#7 It’s So Cold At Arrowhead Tonight That The Refrigerator Is Keeping Drinks Warm

#8 It’s This Cold In Calgary

“Some of the temperatures that we are seeing in Western Canada, not only is it incredibly cold compared to what we’ve seen recently, but they’re record-breaking temperatures in general,” Wagar added.

#9 Saturday Omfg

#10 Looks Like I’m Going Nowhere Today

#11 It’s So Cold In Canada, It’s Snowing Up!

However, things are changing. Above-than-normal temperatures should begin to spread into parts of Western Canada beginning Tuesday.

While we’re not looking at all-time, record-breaking warmth for January, the thaw should be pretty long-lived.

#12 -50c / -58f Temperatures In Alberta, Canada And The Livestock Water Heater Can’t Keep Up

#13 Does Anyone Know If It’s Cold Outside Or Something?

#14 -38 Degree Windchill In Winnipeg

#15 It’s So Cold The Exhaust Fumes From The Furnace Are Freezing Up

By next week, an even stronger heat signal will see daytime highs sitting above the freezing mark as we start the month of February, possibly kicking off the snowmelt for parts of the country.

#16 The Moisture From My Breath Froze On My Glasses