Polar vortex: temperatures to plunge for the weekend

Someone walks long a body of water in the cold, in Montreal on Nov. 25, 2024 (Martin Daigle, CityNews Montreal).

By News Staff

Posted January 15, 2025 2:14 pm.

A polar vortex of ultra-cold Arctic air is heading for much of Canada.

Temperatures are expected to drop between 20-25 degrees Celsius in a short period of time, depending on the region.

In Montreal, for instance, temperatures will drop from a high of 1 C on Saturday to a low of minus-19 on Sunday. The mercury will continue to drop into Monday and Tuesdays, with lows of minus-26 and minus-27, respectively.

The temperature fluctuation is expected to be even more pronounced in regions north of Montreal.

In Winnipeg, temperatures will drop from a high of 0 C on Friday to a low of minus-27 on Saturday – a change of 27 degrees in just a few hours. Sunday’s low is forecasted for minus-31 degrees.

A polar vortex usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes ventures south into Canada and the U.S.

Some experts say such events are happening more frequently, paradoxically, because of a warming world.

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