Ottawa braces for ‘very’ cold temperatures starting Sunday evening

A person walks on the road in the Little Italy neighbourhood of Ottawa following a snow storm on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

The capital is bracing for “very” cold temperatures with wind chill values ranging between -30 and -37 starting Sunday evening.

The cold temperatures are expected to last until the middle of the week, as a polar vortex arrives in the capital.

Environment Canada calls for a high of -12 C, which feels like -22 with the wind chill, and a 30 per cent chance of flurries Sunday. A low of -20 C and partly cloudy skies are expected for tonight.

Though the start of the week will be sunny, the temperatures are expected to dip further down. A high of -18 C and a low of -24 C are forecasted for Monday.

On Tuesday, a high of -16 C and sunny skies are expected. A low of -25 C and clear skies are expected for the night.

The last time the temperatures reached a low below -20 C in Ottawa was on Feb. 25, 2023, -24.4 C.

Last year, the coldest was -19.C on Dec. 22.

The average temperatures for this time of year are a high of -6 C and a low of -16 C.