The streets of Toronto looked decidedly empty Saturday night, as many residents stayed indoors with the city under an extreme cold weather alert.

“Today at 10 a.m. we had a temperature of -14 C with a wind chill of -24 C. Tonight, we’re getting down to -16 C with a wind chill around -22 C,” said CityNews weather specialist Sangita Patel.

The risk of frostbite jumps exponentially when the wind chill reaches -28 C, Patel warns. Skin can freeze in 10-30 minutes.

Sunday’s high will be slightly warmer, with temperatures reaching -8 C under sunny skies.

The extreme cold weather alert means an extra 200 shelter beds are available across the city to ensure homeless people can find some warmth.

So far, there have been three extreme cold weather alerts this year.

But one organization is trying to make sure anyone out on Toronto’s streets will be as warm as possible.

On Saturday, hundreds of volunteers from Project Winter Survival were busy assembling kits with sleeping bags, hats, gloves and hygiene products to be distributed to the city’s homeless.

“Can you believe it, telling your kids that people have to live on the street and freeze at one o’clock in the morning when you’re in a warm bed?” said Project Winter Survival co-founder Lorne Simon.

“I think it’s important for people to have a social conscience and to realize we do have a homeless problem. And in the year 2012, that we’re still battling with homeless issues – it’s unconscionable,” said Sgt. Tim Brown, Toronto Police.

Click here if you would like to get involved with Project Winter Survival.