Dead of winter dead ahead for Ottawa

The dead of winter. Think hunched shoulders, chilblainedtoesand chroniccabin fever: in other words, the most intenselyawful test of the season.

Now, Environment Canada's senior climatologist, Dave Phillips, has determined exactly when Canadians can expect that misery to arrive, no matter where they live.

For Ottawaand the rest of Central Canada, the dead of winteris dead ahead. In the capital, it hits Sunday, Jan. 19. Toronto gets its dosethree days later.

Phillips achieved such precision bycrunching temperature data spanning 30 years, from1981 to 2010, and determining where the lowest lows tend to occur.Climate change may cause shifts here and there, but average highs andlows remain relative, according to Phillips.

What does 'the dead of winter' mean to you?

5 years ago

Duration 0:47

Many of us have heard the phrase "the dead of winter" bandied about in the weeks after the holidays but what does it really mean? The CBC's Hallie Cotnam set out to ask some Ottawa residents.

Don't confuse the dead of winter with the winter solstice on Dec. 21, the shortest, darkest day of the year.

"There's a little piece of folklore which is quite apropos: 'As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens,'" Phillips said.

But don't despair.Bythe dead of winter, "you can say statistically there's more winter behind me than ahead of me," Phillips pointed out. "You've broken the back of winter."

Photo challenge

CBC Ottawa is searching for the photos and memesthat best capturethe frozen misery that isthe dead of winter.

We'll share the best or is that worst? exampleshere.

Send your entries to cbcnewsottawa@cbc.caor via Twitter@cbcottawa.