Environment Canada issues extreme cold warning for all of Alberta ...

Environment Canada has issued extreme cold warnings for all of Alberta, as a significant cold snap is expected to grip the province for several days.

Temperatures in the province are expected to drop Wednesday night, feeling even colder with harsh wind chills. But the coldest temperatures are expected Saturday morning, the national weather agency said on Wednesday afternoon.

Temperatures throughout the province will drop to around –30 C Wednesday night with wind chills near –40, according to the warnings issued by Environment Canada for all locations in the province.

Morning temperatures over the weekend are expected to dip to –40 C in many areas throughout Alberta. The wind chills will be near –50, the warnings say.

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Environment Canada encourages people to cover up if they have to go outside, as frostbite can develop within minutes on skin exposed to such cold.

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Matt Grinter, a meteorologist with The Weather Network, says the current chill is all part of the polar vortex. 

The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure at the poles with very cold air swirling from west to east, he said. 

Normally the cold wind is locked into place by bands of air currents known as the jet stream and circulates the northern arctic region.

When that circulation weakens, the cold temperature is dragged south to lower latitudes. 

Edmonton is in the midst of an extreme cold snap with temperatures plunging deep into the negative this week, and no indication of relief over the weekend. To learn more about what causes this Arctic blast and what we can expect in the days ahead, Edmonton AM is joined by Matthew Grinter, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.

"We know the Praries are accustomed to the cold, but these polar vortex events really do bring some of the coolest air," Grinter says. 

He says, the cold will move through the Prairies and down to the Gulf Coast and Texas Gulf Coast.

Grinter says the weather next week will be closer to what the winter cold really is like for the Prairies.

Environment Canada says extreme cold poses greater risks to young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, those working or exercising outdoors and people without proper shelter.

It also urges people to keep their pets indoors.

Environment Canada forecasts temperatures to warm slightly early next week, but "below normal temperatures" are expected to persist, the warnings say.

The weather agency has also issued extreme cold warnings for much of B.C. and northern Saskatchewan, as well as parts of the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

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