The City of Toronto ended its first extreme cold weather alert of the season on Wednesday as temperatures began to climb in anticipation of a weekend warm spell.
After more than a day of harsh, freezing conditions Toronto's temperature warmed slightly to -6 Celsius on Wednesday morning and was expected to climb as high as zero, with a mix of sun and cloud by the afternoon, Environment Canada said.
The weather forecast also said the city could expect to enjoy a warm weekend, with a daytime high of zero on Thursday and highs of 6 C and 3 C on Friday and Sunday, respecitvely.
The warm front comes after Toronto suffered through its coldest day of the year on Tuesday, after the city called its first extreme cold weather alert since Feb. 10, 2011.
The extreme weather alert had been issued on Monday as an arctic blast and frigid winds brought temperatures as low as -15 C into the city. With the wind chill, temperatures on Tuesday felt as cold as -26 C.
An extreme cold alert is called when Environment Canada predicts a temperature of -15 C or lower, without the wind chill, issues a wind chill warning or predicts extreme weather conditions such as a blizzard.
