Cold weather alert issued for Hamilton

The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton has issued a cold weather alert for the city.

An alert is issued when current or anticipated weather conditions are at or below minus 15 degrees Celsius or minus 20 with wind chill.

Early Thursday morning, temperatures in Hamilton were already feeling minus 24 Celsius with the wind chill.

The city has notified community agencies who work with vulnerable and homeless people to initiate their special protocol for cold weather.

All city-run recreation centres are available during regular hours for those who need to keep warm and the MacNab Transit Terminal will stay open until HSR service ends.

Environment Canada says a special weather statement is also in effect for Hamilton and Niagara with five to 10 centimetres of snow expected as we head into the weekend.

The weather agency says the snow will begin early Friday morning and continue through the day. Motorists should be prepared for poor winter driving conditions due to quickly accumulating snow and reduced visibility.

If you see someone who is in need of shelter please contact the Salvation Army at 905-527-1444, ext. 0.