MONTREAL - The windchill warning for the Greater Montreal area has ended, but bitterly cold temperatures continued Monday throughout the province.

The forecast high for Montreal was -21 C, while other parts of the province were even colder, with temperatures in some areas dropping to -40 C. 

Going outside in Eastern Quebec was dangerous, with wind in some areas gusting up to 90 km/h are expected.

In Montreal, the demand at homeless shelters has been so high that some have run out of coffee, and are asking the public to donate freshly ground beans.

Heidi Coleman at the Old Brewery Mission said they are serving an extra 400 cups of coffee each day.

"We've just opened the doors and we've had people here all weekend because very few places are open over the weekend," Coleman said.


Record set for electricity use

Due to the frigid temperatures, Hydro-Quebec has experienced some of its highest demand for power in the past year.

The utility is urging people to limit their use of electricity, especially during the morning and afternoon peak hours.

Hydro-Quebec has asked customers to reduce lighting, limit the use of hot water, and avoid using high-drain appliances like dishwashers, dryers and washing machines between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., and again between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

Even though people were asked to limit usage, the utility pumped out 38,200 MW early Monday morning, setting a new consumption record.

Some 4,000 people in Montreal were without power late Monday due to the heavy usage. At its peak Monday evening, about 7,000 people were off the grid.


Heating oil in high demand

Sun Youth has been flooded with requests for heating oil during the cold snap. For nearly two decades, the organization has been providing the oil in emergency situations for struggling families.

In all those years, the organization has never had so many requests in such a short period of time.

They handled 25 requests over the weekend, and had received another 30 on Monday.

Sun Youth said it has received requests from across Quebec -- the Laurentians and the Eastern Townships for example -- but can only help people in the Montreal area.


Many still loving the outdoors

Despite the cold snap, many people are refusing to be cowed by Mother Nature.

On Sunday, brave Montrealers who were determined to go outside layered up in order to snowshoe, ski, or go sledding.

"It's nice and it's kind of like a little extreme adventure in Montreal, so it's kind of neat," said one toboggan enthusiast.

One woman on skis proclaimed "This is January! I mean, I don't know what the big deal is about! And it's not even windy -- it's gorgeous, it's sunny, the snow is fantastic."

Winds were actually fairly strong in Montreal over the weekend, with wind chill during the afternoon dropped the effective temperature to -30 C.

At that temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 10 to 30 minutes, and Dr. Mitch Shulman recommends that anyone who is outside brings a partner -- not to share the misery, but to protect against misfortune.

"If they see that part of your skin is going white or something like that, that's a warning sign that it may be getting frozen and you need to do something about it," Shulman said.

His advice? "Protect it and go indoors."