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Frostbite advisory ends as wind chill drops to -22 in Ottawa

Ottawa Public Health ended its first frostbite advisory of 2016 Tuesday afternoon, but the cold continues to bite with a wind chill that makes it feel like -22.

After a chilly, windy morning, temperature is rising with high of -11 C

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The frosty temperatures continue in the capital region on Tuesday morning before it starts to warm up in the evening. (Canadian Press)

Ottawa Public Health ended its first frostbite advisory of 2016 Tuesday afternoon, but the cold continues to bite with a wind chill that makes it feel like –22.

Overnight was the coldest night of the winter so far with temperatures that felt colder than –30 in the capital region and continued through Tuesday morning.

Ottawa Public Health issued its first frostbite advisory of 2016 Sunday afternoon as temperatures were set to drop overnight.

The high on Tuesday is –11 C, but there is light at the end of the tunnel with the low set to rise to –8 C on Tuesday night, according to Environment Canada.

Ottawa Public Health's tips to protect yourself from frostbite include:

  • Keeping an extra set of gloves in your car, house or bag;
  • Wearing two pairs of socks, preferably wool;
  • Avoiding alcohol, which can narrow blood vessels and promote hypothermia;
  • Refraining from rubbing frostbite-affected areas, which can cause more damage.

Physical changes

Ottawa Public Health said last year there were 48 days where Ottawa was under a frostbite advisory (when the air feels like –25 C or colder) or warning (when the air feels like –35 C or colder) in the 78 days between its first notice Jan. 5 and last notice March 23.

Ottawa Public Health's extreme weather lead, Martha Robinson, said people's bodies react differently when they've been experiencing extreme cold for a while, such as last year, than this year's relatively warm winter.

"[After a while] in the summer when it's really hot your body sweats more efficiently, in the winter when it's cold your blood vessels constrict so you're not putting yourself at risk," she said.

"There is some acclimatization when we go from warmish weather to very cold, we really have to rely on the clothing we have and the activities we do to keep warm."

Wednesday should bring some reprieve as the high jumps to –2 C, which should continue each day into the weekend.

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