The mass of Arctic air that has shifted over Canada is expected to drape the country with bone-chillingly cold weather through the weekend.
“You’re going to feel it right away if you step outside,” said Danielle Desjardins, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, a federal department that provides weather forecasting for the country. “Frostbite can occur in minutes or less.”
The most severe conditions are expected in southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba, where temperatures early Saturday and Sunday morning could drop as low as minus 49 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 45 degrees Celsius) in some spots, Ms. Desjardins said, and will feel even colder with winds. On Saturday and Sunday, afternoon highs likely won’t surpass minus 31 Fahrenheit (minus 35 Celsius) in the coldest areas
Areas that include the cities of Regina and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, the largest city in Manitoba, are under severe cold weather alerts through the weekend.
“If you are going outside, dress warmly and dress in layers and cover any exposed skin, even multiple layers on your face,” Ms. Desjardins said.
In Toronto, the country’s biggest city, forecasts of snow squalls and extreme cold — with lows of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 Celsius) — canceled the Toronto Maple Leafs’ annual outdoor practice on Saturday and closed the city’s zoo on Monday in anticipation of severe weather.
The cold air is also funneling into other parts of Canada, including Alberta, Quebec and Ontario, but the temperatures there “won’t be quite as extreme” as in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Ms. Desjardins said.
The Arctic air over Canada has been spilling into the United States, helping to fuel a dangerous storm that’s expected to deliver through Monday a mix of snow and ice from the southern Plains to the Northeast and temperatures as cold as minus 50 Fahrenheit with wind chill overnight in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest.
In Canada, a reprieve from the cold is expected early next week.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting.
Amy Graff is a Times reporter covering weather, wildfires and earthquakes.
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