If you're looking for a warm winter getaway you might want to consider the planet Mars as an option. 

As Arctic air continues to keep Manitoba in its icy grip the planet Mars is experiencing a bit of a heatwave.

In downtown Winnipeg on January 29, the high reached -26.3°C. Meanwhile the high on the red planet reached -7°C, according to NASA's Curiosity Rover.

That's an impressive difference considering that Earth is about 78.3 million KM closer to the sun than Mars (give or take a few KM, of course).

However, if you do somehow manage to get there you might want to make it a day trip. Overnight lows on Mars quickly dip back down to -73°C.

Many places around Manitoba woke up on Tuesday to temperatures around -40°C, with wind chills of -50°C.

As of 5:30 a.m. on January 30, downtown Winnipeg's weather station at The Forks is the province's 'hot spot' . . . at -34.2°C.

Warmer temps on the way?

The good news is some relief is slowly on the way according to Environment Canada's Mike Russo.

"As we get into [Wednesday], though, we are going to see some increasing cloud cover and some light flurry activity gradually move it's way into southern Manitoba. As a result, the temperatures should start to rebound and wind chill values gradually start to moderate."

Winnipeg's forecasted high for Friday is currently -12, with snow expected.

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