A quick look out your window this weekend at all the sunshine and you might almost be able to convince yourself it was a warm, beautiful day out. One step out your door, however, would quickly put an end to that notion. 

Environment Canada is calling for the coldest weather of the winter so far to hit us over the next few days, with Sunday being especially chilly at a daytime high of just minus-27. That high isn't factoring in the wind either, and the wind has been very much present so far this week.

"Those really cold, cold temperatures, clear skies, and that type of thing that will allow the temperatures to really drop into those really, really cold values," said regional meteorologist Terri Lang. "Temperature-wise, we could see below minus-30 and of course with any kind of wind around, which there always seems to be in Saskatchewan, those wind chills will probably get into that minus-40 range."

It might seem counterintuitive that what could be the sunniest weekend of 2021 so far could also be far and away the coldest. The fact is, that clear sky actually allows the temperatures to drop far more than cloud cover would. 

"A little bit of cloud, when it's that cold, will make a difference," Lang explained. "The cloud is like a little blanket and it kind of keeps that heat closer to the earth. We know clear and cold is very winter-like and very Saskatchewan-like." 

According to Lang, as the earth cools off at night, releasing the radiation from the sun it absorbed during the day, a clear sky does nothing to hold that heat in. Clear skies are very much in the forecast for not only the weekend but for Monday and Tuesday as well. 

"It's arctic air, so we know it's cold to start with," she said. "It really deepens in the arctic where there's no sunshine. As it starts making its way down, it does modify somewhat, but at night when it's very clear, because of the subsiding motion in the atmosphere we get clear skies with high-pressure systems."

Lang also said it was very likely Estevan would get an extreme cold warning over the next few days. According to Environment Canada, when temperatures drop below minus-40 with the windchill factor, frostbite can happen in just a few short minutes. Lang recommended dressing in layers if you have to spend any time outdoors.