With four layers on top, three layers on the bottom, gloves, socks, boots, a windbreaker and a balaclava, Lorraine Gadoury was well-prepared for the cold weather on Monday.
Before spending an eight-hour shift outside, the gas attendant's main duty every morning is checking the weather. But with this outfit, -40 degrees takes a long time to cool her down.
Except for her face, she says. When her cheeks get too cold, she warms up inside her office before heading out again to chip ice, shovel snow and help people fuel up for gas.
"You get used to it, eh? Some days, I find it worse," she says. "But if you dress for the weather you are fine."
Less layered in clothes but also in good spirits was Mohammad Khaleque. Dressed in a warm sweater and jacket, he spent 15 minutes waiting for his bus on Monday morning.
It's his 10th winter as a Canadian, so he's used to it now, he says. And while Monday was cold his day was "just fine."
"We can't do anything against the weather. The weather is god-given," he laughs, then advises that there are always ways to make the rest of our day enjoyable and "easy-going," even if it's cold outside.
Fluctuating temperatures
Monday wasn't the last day for cold temperatures this January.
St. Albertans will experience a brief reprieve from the freeze today (up to -8 degrees) but temperatures will cool back down Thursday and Friday to -21 with the wind chill. Sunday to Monday may see temperatures up to one degree.
But then it's back to the freeze, says Bill McMurtry, meteorologist with Environment Canada.
"We are not looking at anything where an arctic ridge just moves in and sits over us for a while but we are sort of flirting with that cold air," he says.
Average temperatures for January are -8 to -19 degrees. But this week, an arctic air mass is moving across Western Canada. The pool of that cold air mass usually remains over the northern part of the province.
But sometimes it makes its way southwards to Edmonton for a few days and then gets pushed northward again for a day, he says.
"That's sort of the pattern that we are expecting over the next week or so," he says.
McMurtry expects temperature fluctuations to remain for the next seven to 10 days. He advises that people take the necessary precautions for the cold, wear plenty of layers and don't spend extended periods outdoors.
They should also remember to drink a fair amount of fluids, he says.
"Your body needs fluids when it's cold outside," he says. "Because your body is working harder to stay warm so it tends to need far more fluids."
Winter sales
It's not only clothes that sell well this time of the year. Businesses specializing in any kind of winter gear are making good money now.
Rona in St. Albert has once again sold out of most of its snow blowers.
"We could have auctioned them off here, I think," laughs operations manager Kim Switner.
Other products flying off the shelves include traction sand, ice melt and fire logs and wood pellets, she says.
There's also an influx of people getting their cars towed and in need of battery service. Midas, a St. Albert auto repair shop, fixes two or three more cars per day now because they won't start in the cold, says manager James Foster.
He recommends people get their batteries tested early in the year, and switch to synthetic oil "because it doesn't get hard as molasses."
Schools
St. Albert schools have now started holding some recesses inside and parents are advised to dress their children in warm clothes, says Paula Powers, spokeswoman for St. Albert Public Schools.
"The big concern is always busing," she says. "We try and always ask parents to really make sure their children are dressed well for the bus stop and to keep an eye on our bus apps so they can see which buses are running late or delayed or cancelled even."
Parents should also teach their children what to do or where to go if a bus doesn't show up after five minutes. The app to check on the buses is available on the public school board's website.
In extreme weather conditions, the final decision to send a child to school or to the bus rests with the parents even though buses and schools may be operating, reads an inclement weather backgrounder by the St. Albert Catholic School board.
Even though school may be cancelled, the buildings won't close in any kind of weather, just in case a child shows up.
