Extreme cold warning ends after deep freeze grips Manitoba for days

Keep your head up, Manitobayou've earned bragging rights for another year.

As January ends,Manitobansarecoming out of the extreme cold that has gripped the province for much of the week; awarning fromEnvironment Canada that's been in place since Tuesday evening waslifted just after noon on Thursday.

"Wind chill values of 40 to 50 will gradually ease through the morning across southern Manitoba," Environment Canada forecast in the extreme cold alert on Thursday morning.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's actually warm in the province where people like to brag about how bad the weather getsit was still25 C and the wind chill was 40 at noon in Winnipeg.

After thetemperature at Winnipeg's airportremained below30 all day Wednesday far colder than the average high of11 C that25 C didn't seem so bad.

In Churchill, the town 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg that calls itself the polar bear capital, it was37 C with a wind chill of48 at noon, but that's not cold enough for a warning in northern Manitoba.

Schools remained closed in rural areas of the province on Thursday, and Winnipeg school divisions took the rare step of cancelling buses because many were no longer running well after days of punishing cold.

On Wednesday,a water pipe burst from the cold at the city's downtown public library, and people who care for the homeless were working hard to help them stay safe.

For information about school closures and bus cancellations, check the CBC Manitoba Storm Centre.

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