Record-breaking cold greets early-risers across Ontario this morning

After Tuesday's rather unwelcome return of Old Man Winter to Ontario, his lingering effects were still felt this morning across the province as anyone venturing outside early was treated to some record-breaking chills.

Temperatures across Ontario were well-below freezing as the sun came up this morning, with thermometers giving readings for this day that haven't been seen in decades. Toronto's Pearson International Airport recorded a low of -6 C this morning, beating out the previous record low of -5.6 C, from April 16, 1980, while Toronto Island's reading of -5 C beat out the record of -4.4 C from that same day.

Cities across the southern part of the province followed in his record-breaking suit, with some taking over from records set in the 1990s (simply due to stations being established more recently), but most — like Hamilton, London and Kitchener-Waterloo, as well as Barrie, Peterborough and out to Kingston — breaking records from that same April 16 cold snap in 1980.

The most extreme record goes to Barrie, apparently, for their low of -13 C this morning, beating out -7.5 C from 1980, and the 'prize' for beating the longest-running record goes to Ottawa, as the -9 C measured this morning shattered a 71 year-old record of -8.3 C, set back on this day in 1943.

Northern Ontario set records of its own, with North Bay and Sudbury beating out old records from the 1980s and Thunder Bay tying their April 16, 1980 record of -14 C. Sault Ste. Marie beat their record by the widest margin, reaching -16 C this morning to beat out -8.9 C from 1947, but Parry Sound's morning low of -13 C takes the top spot for breaking the oldest record of all, going back to April 16, 1928.

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The freezing cold this morning extended far beyond Ontario, of course, reaching all the way from Alberta to New Brunswick. However, other than the city of Montreal, where the low this morning of -7 C beat out a record low of -5 C, from both 1943 and 2003, the other regions experiencing these chills have just seen much colder temperatures on April 16 in the past. The Prairies have some especially cold records for this day, with Winnipeg getting down to a record low of -12 C as recently as 1997 (it only reached -9 C there this morning), and Regina and Saskatoon (which were both warmer than Winnipeg this morning) with records down near or at -20 C going back to 1907.

For today, the afternoon highs from the Rockies to New Brunswick will only get a few degrees above zero, at the warmest, and this cold will be spreading through the rest of Atlantic Canada throughout the day. Fortunately, this cold is set to move on over the next day or two, letting temperatures across the country get back up to around 10 C, which is where they should be for this time of the year.

(Photo courtesy: The Canadian Press)

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