Residents from Quebec to Newfoundland and Labrador are waking up this morning to more extreme cold weather.
Extreme cold weather alerts remain in place today for the Atlantic provinces and northern regions of Quebec and Ontario due to frigid temperatures brought on by an immense Arctic air mass.
The alerts issued by Environment Canada for the second day in a row affect six provinces from Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as communities in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
Emergency officials warned people to seek shelter and monitor for frostbite if they had to be outside overnight, as the temperature across much of Eastern Canada was expected to feel like -40 C to -50 C with the wind chill.
Temperatures in Quebec City were forecast to fall to -30 C overnight — with a wind chill index of -45 — and the arctic weather was expected to last until Sunday.
Extreme cold warnings remain in effect across the East Coast, with temperatures in the Halifax area expected to feel like -39 C through the morning.
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In such conditions, frostbite can develop in minutes on exposed skin.
Government and private agencies scrambled on Friday to provide shelter for vulnerable people in scores of cities and towns in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, as conditions risked giving exposed skin frostbite in minutes.
The City of Montreal opened two temporary emergency warming centres, each of which can accommodate up to 50 people between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. The centres are to close on Sunday.
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