LAKELAND - An extreme cold warning remains in effect for a large portion of the province, taking in much of northern Alberta on Feb. 4.
On Tuesday morning, school buses were cancelled by Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) due to the extreme weather conditions. NLPS operates in the Bonnyville, Cold Lake and Lac La Biche regions.
"Schools are open and classes will proceed," reads the notice sent out by NLPS. "Programming may be modified if large numbers of students are absent."
In the St. Paul Education region, buses ran as usual on Tuesday, despite the cold temperatures that hovered near -30C, with a "feels like" temperature of about -39C. By 10:30 a.m., the temperature was still -32C and felt like -33C.
"Extremely cold wind chill values will moderate somewhat this afternoon. However, nighttime and morning wind chills between minus 40 and minus 45 will continue into Wednesday for some areas," reads the extreme cold warning from Environment Canada.
"Extreme cold puts everyone at risk. Risks are greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter. Watch for cold related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes," recommends Environment Canada.
"Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill."
Environment Canada says it puts extreme cold warnings in place when temperatures or wind chill create an elevated risk to health.
