Polar vortex visits the prairies for the holidays

Though much of December has been marked by spring-like weather, old man winter couldn't pass up Christmas on the prairies.

Temperatures will take a steep dip through the end of the weekend in Saskatchewan.

We can thank the polar vortex for this abrupt cool down. The large upper low-pressure system made up of very cold air will move southward, bringing frigid temperatures and near-warning-level wind chills for Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

How cold will we be?

Some areas of northern Saskatchewan are already seeing the cold weather, with temperatures in the -30s in Uranium City Friday morning.

Temperatures are expected to dip into the -20s in the rest of the north Saturday, with the real cooldown coming for most of southern and central Saskatchewan on Christmas Eve.

Temperatures should drop into the -30s in Regina and Saskatoon on Sunday night and remain in the mid -20s for Christmas Day.

With the wind chill, it will likely feel closer to -40 overnight in most areas, and feel into the -30s during the daytime.

Will there be more snow?

Light snow is expected around the province tonight with a weak disturbance moving through.

Althoughwe could hang onto flurries for Sunday in parts of the province, clear weather is expected for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with arctic high pressure in place.

Tips for travel

If you are heading out on the roads this holiday season, luckily we will not be dealing with blizzard conditions or extreme snowfall events.

The cold weather can pose a danger, though, if you have car trouble so be sure to have an emergency kit with you.

Cold weather should last the rest of the year

It looks like the deep freeze is here to stay in Saskatchewan. Temperatures are expected to remain in the -20s until the new year.