A polar vortex is moving into Canada with 'severe cold' and temperatures below -40 C
The frigid weather will extend from the Prairies, through Ontario and into Quebec. 🥶
Toronto buildings during the winter.
The polar vortex is plunging down across the country and causing "severe cold."
Canada's weather will be frigid this weekend and into next week with temperatures dropping below -40 C in some provinces.
A new forecast from The Weather Network said the polar vortex is expected to stretch across North America and bring "dangerous cold" to parts of Canada.
This will be "one of the most notable and widespread arctic outbreaks" in North America since 2014.
An arctic air mass from Siberia will plunge south across the Prairies this week and spread east by the weekend.
Colder-than-normal temperatures will take over east of the Rockies with "severe cold" in the forecast for the Prairies and northern Ontario as wind chills could drop below -40 C.
The Weather Network said there's a risk of frostbite and hypothermia if you're spending time outdoors in these conditions.
Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19 are expected to see "dangerous cold" — temperatures in the -30s and -40s — for the Prairies and Ontario.
Then, Monday, January 20 will have "the coldest air of the season" for southern and eastern areas in Ontario and much of Quebec.
In Toronto and the GTA, overnight lows could dip down to -18 C with a wind chill below -20 C.
Temperatures around -20 C are forecast to spread into Ottawa and all the way to Montreal with "brutal" wind chills on Monday night.
Even though this won't be the coldest weather ever in Canada, "it is most unusual to see so much of North America with such an extreme cold anomaly for a five-day period," according to The Weather Network.