Northwestern Ontario deep freeze to continue until end of January

Those hoping for a break in the region's extremely cold weather will need to wait a little longer, an Environment Canada meteorologist said Saturday.

"An arctic airmass has basically invaded Northwestern Ontarioand southern Ontariothis weekend, and [is]just really plunging most of Ontario into the deep freeze," saidwarning preparedness meteorologist Peter Kimbell.

On Friday night, temperatures in the region dropped to about 35 C. With the wind chill, that felt as cold as 40 to 45, according to the Environment Canada weather alerts page.

Nearly all of Ontario remained under extreme cold warnings on Saturday afternoon.

More of the same isexpected Saturday night, Kimbell said, with the wind chll reaching as low as 45.

That, he said, can cause "frostbite in minutes."

Temporary relief

Kimbell said there will betemporary relief Monday and Tuesday, when temperatures will return to seasonal whichfor Thunder Bay is a high of 9 Cand a low of 20 C.

Kimbell said thehigh isexpected to reach about 11 C on Monday and 7 C on Tuesday, with a bit of snow mixed in.

The cold will be back by late in the week, he said, when temperatures will fall to around25 C on Thursday and Friday.

That's a pattern, Kimbell said, that will continue for several days.

"Northwestern Ontario will remain entrenched in the arctic air [until] the end of the month, with every couple of days a bit of a reprieve," he said.