Extreme cold warnings issued across much of Saskatchewan

Environment Canada has issued extreme cold warnings for large parts of Saskatchewan, including most of the province’s major cities.

Included under the extreme cold warning are Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, the Battlefords, Weyburn and Estevan. Saskatoon is expected to reach a high of just -26 C on Friday, while Regina’s high for the day was -27 C.

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“Temperatures near -30 C with wind chill values near -40 C are expected this morning,” Environment Canada said in a statement.

Many parts of the province were blanketed by extreme cold warnings on Friday morning. (Environment Canada/Screenshot)

According to meteorologist Dan Fulton, the cold snap is expected to last throughout most of the weekend.

“This one’s not going to be too long, so things should moderate a little bit this afternoon, but expect it to get cold again tonight and into Saturday morning,” Fulton said.

“Saturday morning will likely be another cold one, and then we’ve got a bit of a warm up coming for Sunday.”

Fulton said temperatures are dropping in all corners of the province, even the areas not covered by the extreme cold warning.

“There’s a ridge of high pressure that’s been building into the province over the last day or so. As the skies have cleared, it’s allowed the temperature to drop quite a bit,” Fulton explained.

“So temperatures this morning over really much of the province are close to the -30 C mark.”

Temperatures for Saturday will hover between -20 C and -30 C for most of the province, then most areas are expected to have temperatures climbing into the -10 C to -20 C range by Sunday.

With some people still travelling around for the holidays, Fulton recommended that drivers carry an emergency kit in their vehicles.

“Always good idea to have an emergency kit in your car just in case it breaks down or something happens and you’re stranded for a while,” he said. “Just to stay warm – like a little blanket – things like that.

The latest information on the weather alerts can be found on Environment Canada’s website.