Weekend deep freeze sets record lows in 10 areas across Saskatchewan
Scott and Eastend regions break 108-year-old records
The extreme cold gripping the province, and the country, set record-low temperatures in 10 areas across Saskatchewan on Saturday.
Leader hit a low of –45.9 C, shattering the old mark of –39.7 C set in 2005.
The Kindersley area wasn't far behind with the temperature falling to a bone-chilling –44.1 C.
The Scott and Eastend regions broke 108-year-old records. Scott plummeted to –42.6 C on Saturday while Eastend hit –38.5 C.
The other areas that hit record lows were:
- Assiniboia at –38.6 C.
- Cypress Hills at –39.9 C.
- Elbow at –38.6 C.
- Lucky Lake at –40.7 C.
- Rockglen at –39 C.
- Waskesiu Lake at –37.5 C.
There is no let-up in sight for the next few days.
Environment Canada says an Arctic air mass will continue to bring "dangerously cold temperatures to the region," with wind chills making it feel as cold as –40 C to –55 C across the province until at least Tuesday.
Power usage
SaskPower supplied Alberta with power Saturday night after that province issued an emergency alert saying there was a "high risk" of rotating power outages.
The grid alert — meaning Alberta's power system was under stress and preparations were underway to use emergency reserves to meet demand and maintain reliability — for the system was ended by the Alberta Electric System Operator just before 9 p.m. MT.
Alberta residents were asked to immediately reduce electricity use to essentials only. The Alberta Emergency Management Agency urged Albertans to turn off unnecessary lights, avoid cooking with a stove and delay charging electric vehicles.
SaskPower spokesperson Scott McGregor said the Crown corporation supplied Alberta with about 153 MW of power for three hours on Saturday evening.
"Typically, we're importing power from our neighbours to the east from Manitoba and then exporting out to our neighbours to the west to Alberta," he said.
"We don't see energy alerts happen very often, thankfully, in other jurisdictions. But yesterday, Alberta needed a bit more power than what we normally send over that way."
SaskPower did not set any records for power consumption. McGregor said the province used 3,180 MW on Saturday, below the record of 3,910 MW set on Dec. 31, 2021.
"That said, with periods of sustained cold, breaking the current record is not outside the realm of possibilities," McGregor said.
He said during extreme cold there are some easy ways for customers to save on their power bills: Make sure your furnace is running efficiently; get a timer for your block heater so it comes on about four hours before you are going to use the vehicle; and lower the heat when people aren't home or are sleeping.
Flights cancelled
Some flights at the Regina and Saskatoon airports were cancelled or delayed during the weekend because of the extreme cold.
"We've seen from the airlines' announcements over the last couple of days a variety of impacts from weather all across Canada and North America," said Justin Reves, director of revenue development, public relations and customer experience for the Regina Airport Authority.
"Oftentimes for mid-size airports like ours, airlines are relying on planes coming in from other centres and if they can't take off and they can't get in, that creates a challenge for getting people on the flight and sending them back out."
Reves said it is frustrating to see flights cancelled or delayed, but he said airlines will be able to start moving passengers in and out of the airport soon.
"But any time (airlines) are playing catch up, that can be a bit messy," he said.
"So we're certainly reminding everybody who's either flying or looking to pick people up to check with the airlines directly for the latest information."
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