Edmontonians woke up Tuesday to another frigid morning, and while the extreme cold warning has now ended, those working outside are still ready to navigate the winter weather.
After 10 years working in Edmonton, Melchor Macalanda has gotten used to the cold, remembering his first winter working outside.
“I wanna go home to the Philippines, that is the first time I thought when working in this cold weather right,” said Macalanda.
Macalanda says the recent cold snap has impacted his contracting company, still needing to cut materials outside or dealing burst pipes.
“You easily get tired because you have heavy things on your body … like right now, I have four or five layers of jacket, and then I have my coverall,” Macalanda explained.
The blast of winter weather also caused issues for the Alberta Motor Association (AMA).
“Anytime it gets really cold or we get the freeze and thaw and the road conditions deteriorate, we certainly see an increase in those types of calls as well as almost all other types of roadside assistance,” said Lance Hughes, a fleet supervisor with AMA.
Drivers might see stalled vehicles on highways and roads more often as AMA lists wait times for a tow at over 20 hours in Edmonton as of Tuesday afternoon, and even longer in Calgary, where the wait is over 43 hours.
Hughes says even those rescuing people from the cold are not exempted from Jack Frost’s wrath, dealing with their own breakdowns.
“The cold certainly does contribute to the issues we see with our own units as well,” explained Hughes.
For Macalanda, he’ll continue to keep an eye on the weather, ready to pause work if temperatures hit -40 C.
“Sometimes if it’s like too cold, then we don’t work … I don’t wanna risk my team.”
Temperatures are expected to warm to day time hights above -12 C on Wednesday in the Edmonton region, but the city is continuing its extreme weather response to support the vulnerable, as long as day time lows are below -20 C with the wind chill.