Toronto remains under an extreme cold weather alert as a short wintry blast has hit the city.

Tuesday’s temperature will be -12C but with the wind chill that will feel more like -18C to -20C. The record low for Jan. 3 is -26C.

The cold weather created problems downtown Tuesday morning.

There was a big water main break on Church Street, right outside Maple Leaf Gardens, where the front end of a city truck ended up inside the sinkhole.

“We all have our bad days,” driver Louie said before heading back out on the job after his truck was pulled out of the hole.

The cold may also have been responsible for snapping streetcar lines at Queen and Strachan Tuesday morning, affecting service on the Queen and Bathurst routes. The TTC had to cut power to a six-kilometre stretch of Queen and shuttle buses were used until service was up and running again.

The cold snap is expected to ease by Wednesday, when the temperature is expected to move up to -1C and then 0C on Thursday.

The temperatures will shoot up even more—to 6C—on Friday for a mild start to the weekend.

Check the full forecast here.

As the city shivers under extreme cold Tuesday, an extra 200 shelter beds are available across the city to ensure homeless people can find some warmth.

The city declared 10 extreme cold weather alerts in 2010.

Snow squall warnings remain in effect for a large swath of southwestern Ontario, from Barrie down to Sarnia, excluding the GTA.

In those areas, drivers are being told that if they don't have to travel, stay off the roads. Blowing snow caused several crashes and temporarily closed the westbound lanes of Highway 402 at Highway 401 near London.