Quebec under extreme cold warning as temperatures drop dramatically

Extremely cold Montreal weekend in store Bitterly cold conditions will continue in Montreal and Quebec over the weekend.

Environment Canada has issued an extreme cold warning for most of southern Quebec as temperatures plunge dramatically to end the workweek.

Montrealers woke up Friday morning to temperatures of -26.4 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest morning of the season so far -- the record low for this day remains -27.5 degrees Celsius in 2005.

Extreme wind chill values of -38 C to -40 C are expected to hit the province Friday night into Saturday morning.

If temperatures reach the expected -29 C on Saturday morning, it would set a new record for the day, beating the current record of -28.3 C in 1976.

"Cover up," warns Environment Canada. "Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill."

The agency asks anyone working outdoors to take regularly scheduled breaks to warm up.

Extreme cold warnings are issued when very cold temperatures or wind chill create an elevated risk to one's health, such as frostbite or hypothermia.

January 2022 has been one of the coldest in the last few years, with temperatures dropping below -20 C nine times already -- compared to last year when it only happened once.

The normal high at this time of year: -6 degrees Celsius.

The normal low at this time of year: -15 degrees Celsius.

-- with files from CTV News' Lori Graham