The freeze gripping Prince George won't be quite as deep as Environment Canada first forecast, for the time being at least.
As of Monday, the agency backed away from overnight lows south of -30 C throughout the week, saying instead they will remain above that level while the highs will range from the low to mid-20s rather than flirting with -30 C.
In other words, temperatures should stay within the range the city endured last week, at least until Friday when the overnight low is expected to drop to -34 C.
"I think we were calling [last week] for the first bit of the workweek being close to -30, so we've just delayed it, is probably the best way to say it," Environment Canada meteorologist Ross MacDonald said Monday. "Those lows of sub -30 are coming but it'll take a little bit of time for the real cold to get here."
Environment Canada's long-range guidance is showing a reprieve by as soon as Sunday.
"It's probably a little too early to say exactly when but there is some indication that we will break this pattern by early next week," MacDonald said. "So a return to more mild temperatures. I don't know if we'll get to seasonal but it will be warming up."
The average daytime high for this time of year is around -4 C and the normal low is about -12 C.
