You know it's cold when you're wearing a toque, a balaclava, and a hood, and your head still feels like it’ll freeze right off.

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You know it’s cold when your dog looks out the front door, says no thanks, and whips back to the safety of the couch.

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And you know it's cold – and windy too – when the spray from Okanagan Lake turns the northern Penticton waterfront into an ice-encrusted wonderland.

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That was the case Tuesday, and will likely continue to be the case right through to the weekend. Frozen-in-time waves on the beach, geometric patterns of icicles hanging from wharves and piers, vegetation seemingly several times its regular size.

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Photo Credit: NowMedia

It's a spectacular sight that the fair-weather tourists never get to see. And not many residents either, as it takes some serious moxie to venture lakeside when everything inside you is screaming "Stay in the car!"

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Photo Credit: NowMedia

Thankfully, we're now on the cusp of a warming trend. According to Environment Canada, Wednesday will be a real weather oddity in that the daytime high of -10°C will match the nighttime low.

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Photo Credit: NowMedia

Thursday and Friday will range between -7 and -11, but the big move upward comes Saturday when we could crack the freezing mark.

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By Monday, Environment Canada forecasts a high of 3°C. Break out the air conditioner!

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Tuesday will be notable in that it's exactly one month since the shortest day of the year. We'll have gained over a half hour of daylight from the dark recesses of late December, and that’s good news in anyone's books.

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Photo Credit: NowMedia

Photo Credit: NowMedia

Photo Credit: NowMedia

Photo Credit: NowMedia