Thick ice fog settled over Grande Prairie Sunday morning, as temperatures dropped as low as minus 44 (Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP)

By Shane Clausing

major cold snap

Stretch of cold weather set to grip Peace Region

Dec 11, 2021 | 6:00 AM

The Peace Region is expected to get hit with its first real blast of winter over the next week.

Starting on Sunday, December 12, and heading into at least Friday, December 17, temperature highs are expected to reach around the high minus teens and the low minus 20s, with evening lows, potentially dropping to below minus 30 with the windchill.

Environment Canada meteorologist Sarah Hoffman says this cold weather is expected to last for a while.

“The thing about these cold arctic air masses is that they are hard to move once they have entrenched themselves over an area,” she explained.

“They are hard to move, hard to moderate and we know them all too well on the prairies. I’m looking at some cooler than normal temperatures until Friday next week really.”

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While seeing cold temperatures in the Peace Region is normal for many residents, Hoffman points to this being a La Nina winter, as a reason for why we are getting hit with the cold weather.

“There is some slightly cooler than normal sea surface temperatures just off the coast of South America.”

“If you can believe it or not, those waters can impact the weather all the way up here to Canada on the prairies,” she said. “A La Nina year typically means overall the winter will be cooler than normal and have more precipitation than normal.”

With winter here and this cold front fully expected to grip the prairies, Hoffman reminds residents it is important for them to be prepared.

“I wouldn’t expect this cold air to go anywhere at all. I would encourage everyone who parks outside to make sure you have everything sorted out around your block heater and plugging your vehicle in. This is definitely the first true brutal cold snap of the winter.”