School bus service for all schools in Winnipeg was cancelled Monday due to extreme wind chill.
The general manager of First Student Canada Bus and Coach Lines said the decision was made by Winnipeg school divisions based on weather conditions at Winnipeg airport at 6 a.m.
The threshold for cancelling school bus service in the city is a wind chill below -45.
Monday morning Environment Canada issued a warning for wind chill in the -40 to -50 range.
Staff at First Student Canada spent Monday running the engines on each of the companies 400 buses for several hours to prevent the batteries from dying.
The company's general manager, Brett Harris, said more than 70 batteries have had to be replaced over the past two weeks because of extreme cold conditions.
With extreme wind chill forecast for Tuesday morning, he advised parents to be prepared for the possibility of more cancellations.
Around Manitoba, multiple schools reported closures on Monday, Jan. 6.
