Manitoba weather: Cold snap claiming Manitoba until the weekend [Video]

If you haven’t already noticed, the first bitter cold snap of the year is now underway in Winnipeg.

At 7 a.m., the hourly temperature recorded at Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) station at the airport was a frigid -30 C.

No surprise, the weather agency has issued an extreme cold warning for the city and most of southern Manitoba.

An Arctic ridge of high pressure has locked on to the province that won’t release its grip on the south until temperatures begin to moderate on Friday.

On the other hand, the sun will be shining under the ridge today and on Thursday. Cold comfort, perhaps.

Daytime highs this afternoon across most of Manitoba, north and south, will reach between -23 C and -25 C. Wind chill values will feel in the low -30s.

Conditions are similar this afternoon in northwestern Ontario, where ECCC has also issued an extreme cold …