HTFUP! Ryder… it is -42 C in Winnipeg today

EDMONTON - A fierce blast of snow and cold was making its way east into Manitoba on Sunday after triggering record low wind chills of -50 C and colder in neighbouring Saskatchewan overnight.


Wind chill warnings were in effect in both provinces throughout the day, prompting warnings from Environment Canada that exposed skin would freeze in less than 10 minutes.


Residents of Saskatoon woke up to the coldest temperatures since 1966, with a wind chill of -45 C, leaving the city shrouded in ice fog.


The actual temperature in Saskatoon at mid-morning was -39 C and Environment Canada lists the record low temperature on Jan. 4 as -40 C in 1966. The Saskatchewan Encyclopedia says temperatures in the -50 C range are the lowest ever recorded in the province.


Regina and other areas of southern Saskatchewan were still digging out from up to 25 centimetres of snow that began Friday.


In Moose Jaw, 3,000 homeowners were without power for up to four hours Saturday as the result of a major house fire that left firefighters covered in ice.


Manitobans woke up Sunday shivering in wind chills of -45 C in Brandon and Dauphin, and flights were delayed out of Winnipeg as the city dug out from nearly 15 centimetres of snow.


A pregnant woman and her two toddlers were among seven people taken to hospital following a three-vehicle collision Saturday on Highway 6 north of Winnipeg that police blamed on poor road conditions.


Southeastern Manitoba was buried in up to 20 centimetres of snow Saturday.


Drivers across the region were being warned Sunday about blowing and drifting snow and travel was not recommended on Highway 44 west from the Ontario boundary.