Central, Eastern Canada in deep freeze for another day

Environment Canada says it will be bitterly cold again on Sunday in Central and Eastern Canada.

The agency has issued about 140 extreme cold warnings throughout northwestern Ontario to northern New Brunswick due to a large Arctic high-pressure system.

However, in Winnipeg, the extreme cold warning issued on Saturday has ended and the temperature has risen to -11 C.

The cold warnings remain in effect for most of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and parts of Labrador.

But forecasters say temperatures should return to seasonal norms on Monday.

Early Sunday, the temperature was -28 in Ottawa and -27 in Montreal, but wind chill values were making the temperatures feel like -40 in both cities.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement on Sunday saying wind chill values will be between -38 and -50 Sunday morning and into the night in some areas of northern and eastern Quebec.

The day started in the Toronto area with a temperature of -23, or -29 in the wind. That was down from -26, without wind chill, reported on Saturday, the coldest Feb. 13 on record for the Greater Toronto Area. By 10 a.m. ET, as the temperature inched higher to -19.6 (feeling like -22 with the wind chill), the extreme cold warning was lifted.

The sudden deep freeze has come as a shock to some because much of the country has seen temperatures above normal levels because of the Super El Nino.

"I keep saying to people, you know, there will be times when El Nino will go to sleep and we'll see that dreaded Polar Vortex, reaching down from Siberia right into the heart of Canada, and of course, that's what we're seeing this weekend," said Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.

Western Canada has escaped the effects of the Arctic blast, enjoying above-normal temperatures. Calgary was on the plus side at 7 C on Saturday and is expected to see a high of 9 on Sunday.