The Latest: Ski hills closed, warming shelters open as Western Canada grapples with extreme cold

A wave of Arctic air is creating dangerous conditions in Western Canada, with the entire province of Alberta under an extreme cold warning, along with parts of B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"There were parts of Alberta that were 15 degrees colder than what we're seeing at the North Pole," Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.

The culprit is a wave of thick, Arctic air from Siberia that made its way down through the territories.

"It's dense. It's like molasses, and it just sweeps down, just crawling down and getting every little crack in the in the provinces," Phillips said.

It's been so cold in Edmonton, even local ski hills are shutting down until temperatures warm up.