Saskatchewan remains under extreme cold warning

Saskatchewan remains in the grips of a polar vortex.

The entire province was still under an extreme cold warning Monday and Environment Canada said the low temperatures will continue for a few days.

“It’s basically a story of what you see is what you’re going to get, unfortunately, if you’re not a fan of cold weather,” meteorologist Eric Dykes said early Monday.

“There’s an Arctic ridge of high pressure that is staying rather stagnant over the Prairie provinces and as a result, we’re looking at very cold but very sunny conditions for today and in through the remainder of the week.”

As of Monday at 4 a.m., Saskatoon was the coldest spot in the province at -39.6 C. That was close to the city’s record for Feb. 8 of -40.2 C, recorded in 1994.

The low temperatures and winds of 10 to 20 kilometres per hour meant wind chill values between -40 and -50 C were expected in the province during the day Monday.

In Regina, school buses for both the public and Catholic school divisions were cancelled Monday. School bus service in Saskatoon and area also was affected.

Dykes reminded people to bundle up if they had to go outside as exposed skin can freeze in between two and five minutes. That warning extends through next Sunday.

“It looks like there are no really large low-pressure systems coming our way to give us snow, cloud cover or even warmth for the next little while,” Dykes said. “It really does look like it’s going to be a rather cold week in southern Saskatchewan.”