Cold temperatures to continue until next week

In addition to lows of -28 and -30, a wind chill warning is in effect, making it feel like -40 or -45.

Environment Canada Meteorologist David Jones explains that while it was mild through December and the first part of January, the arctic air that built up to the north has flooded south to northern B.C. Even worse, it's not going anywhere fast.

Jones explains, "Winter's finally here and it's going to stick around for awhile because when the arctic air gets this deep, it gets very wide… very hard to budge when it's like this, so be prepared for cold, clear conditions for awhile."

Historically, the average temperature for this time is a low of -18 and a high of -10, so as we're seeing lows of -30 and highs of -25, it's 12 to 15 degree colder than average. Luckily, there is some light at the end of the tunnel: temperatures may begin to moderate by the beginning of next week.

"The pattern's going to start to change on Sunday, so there's going to be some warm air eventually headed towards the northeast corner of the province, but our forecast high for Sunday is still only -23."

Residents are warned that as a wind chill warning in effect, frostbite can occur in minutes. People planning to spend time outdoors should exercise extreme caution.