Saskatchewan's extreme cold warnings extended to Tuesday, Environment Canada says

(Chad Hills / CTV News)

Saskatchewan remains in the midst of an intense deep freeze – as cold weather warnings are expected to persist for several more days.

“Those cold temperatures and the strong winds from this pressure gradient is causing some pretty strong, pretty severe wind chill values for most of Saskatchewan [and]f for most of the prairies actually,” Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologist Kyle Mcaulay told CTV News.

The latest cold snap for Saskatchewan is the result of an arctic air mass originating from Siberia and affecting not just Saskatchewan, but the most of the country.

As for what residents can expect – temperatures dropping down to -40 to -55 when combined with winds of 15 to 30 km/h.

“Extreme cold puts everyone at risk,” the ECCC's warning for the City of Regina read.

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The big chill has affected everything from firefighting to air travel.

WestJet reported over the weekend that morning temperatures rendered de-icing fluid ineffective at most airports in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Frigid conditions also wreaked havoc on airport equipment such as boarding bridges, the airline went on to say.

Travelers faced numerous delays and cancellations as a result.

ECCC has said residents in Saskatchewan can expect conditions to improve bit by bit going into the week.

“Coming Monday the temperatures warm up a little bit and gradually warm up throughout the week,” Mcaulay explained.

“Not very warm. It's kind of more like normal temperatures for this time of year.”