Dig out the windshield scraper and wool tuque, a cold snap is headed for Vancouver Island.

Environment Canada's current seven-day forecast has temperatures dropping to 0 and -3 C overnight this week with no precipitation, a slight improvement from Monday's outlook, which called for freezing temperatures and a chance of flurries.

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“There is a definite significant weather change en route,” said Andre Besson from Environment Canada on Monday. He said a cold Arctic air mass is coming west from the Prairies, which will shift the warm temperatures of the subtropic flow from the southwest.

“We can expect it to be five to 10 degrees cooler for most parts of the province,” Besson said, adding there will be strong northeast winds near the water and inlets on the south coast.

The Weather Network's seven-day forecast predicts lows of 1 and 2 C overnight this week.

Besson said temperatures are expected to rise a bit on the weekend as moisture from a Pacific frontal system moves in from the northwest.

Emergency shelters in Victoria were opened Monday under the extreme weather protocol to provide warm spaces to sleep and rest for the city’s homeless.

Normal temperatures for the region this time of year are a daytime high of 9 C and overnight low of 4 C.

spetrescu@timescolonist.com

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