The City of Edmonton has announced that they will be activating their Extreme Cold Weather Response starting at noon on Sunday (Feb. 25).
The Extreme Cold Weather Response is activated once temperatures are expected to reach -20 C including the wind chill for three nights in a row. Recreation centres and libraries across the city will be open during regular hours for anyone to warm up inside.
This activation also includes extreme weather bus routes, which operate overnight with support staff to help passengers access emergency shelters. You can view a map of the bus routes on the City of Edmonton website.
Edmonton will also be adding 50 temporary shelter spaces at the Al Rashid Mosque, with the city encouraging vulnerable Edmontonians to go to shelters and protect themselves from winter conditions.
This sudden cold weather comes as an arctic front is hitting the country, delivering extreme cold in the prairies, freezing rain in the west, and snowfall on the east coast.
The Extreme Cold Weather Response is expected to last until March 1 but will be extended if the weather remains cold beyond that timeframe.
