Eastern Canada gripped by deep freeze

Photo: CTV

Pedestrians battle 90 km/h wind gusts as the city faces freezing rain, snow, and a rollercoaster temperature swing from 5C to -13C as winter continues its assault Monday, Jan. 6, 2014 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Prairies and southern Ontario are facing more winter misery with bitterly cold temperatures Tuesday while British Columbia and Newfoundland residents will be seeing milder temperatures and rain.

Environment Canada has issued wind chill, blizzard and snow squall warnings for parts of southern Ontario.

In Toronto, temperatures are forecast to hover between – 30 C to -40 C with the wind chill. In these frigid temperatures, exposed skin may freeze in less than five minutes, the weather agency warned.

Environment Canada advised residents in southern Ontario to turn on the lowest tap in their home and let it run at a very low level, to prevent their pipes from freezing.

Just outside the Greater Toronto Area, blizzard and snow squall warnings are in effect for Barrie, Muskoka and the Waterloo regions.

In Saskatchewan and Manitoba temperatures are also well past the freezing mark, with the wind chill in Regina and Winnipeg forecast to reach – 35 C and – 39 C respectively.

Meanwhile Newfoundland residents are facing milder temperatures, but a number of wind, freezing rain and rain warnings have been issued across the province.

The St. John’s area will see a high of 7 C and southeast winds gusting between 100 and 140 km/h. Later tonight, westerly winds gusting up to 100 km/h are expected over the southeastern part of the province.

In Red Bay, Labrador, a warning has been issued for freezing rain, with it changing to rain later in the day.

The Corner Brook area in Newfoundland can expect a total rainfall accumulation between 30 to 55 millimetres by Tuesday afternoon, Environment Canada said.

Out west, the Vancouver region will see periods of rain and a high of 7 C.