Many Vancouver Island residents will want to bundle up on Monday when spending time outdoors as it’s expected to get quite chilly in certain areas.
Those areas include Comox, Campbell River, Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands — areas where arctic outflow winds are expected to hit and combine with low temperatures to produce wind chill values near or below -20 degrees Celsius.
The arctic winds are forecasted to hit Vancouver Island from Monday through until Wednesday afternoon.
According to Environment Canada, an arctic ridge of high pressure, coming from the B.C. Interior, is bringing strong and bitterly cold outflow winds to several coastal communities.
The weather agency acknowledges that mainland inlets and areas that are exposed to outflow winds are more likely to experience these very cold wind chill values of near the -20 degrees mark.
The outflow and temperatures will moderate somewhat this afternoon and tonight but wind chill values are still expected to be between -10 and -20 degrees Celsius.
Stronger outflow and lower overnight temperatures are forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning bringing similar wind chill values throughout the week.
The cold wind chill will moderate during the day on Wednesday as temperatures increase and things start to warm back up.
“Frostbite and hypothermia can occur within minutes if adequate precautions are not taken when outdoors,” cautions Environment Canada in a special weather statement.
“Minimize exposed skin with hats, scarves and mittens or gloves. Anyone who is not dressed warmly is at risk of frostbite and hypothermia in cold weather,” adds the agency.
Public Safety Canada also encourages everyone to make an emergency plan and get an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, a first-aid kit and a flashlight.
The arctic winds follow a weekend that saw snow blanket Vancouver Island in various communities as well.
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