The current cold snap, which has seen temperatures plunging to -50 C in some communities, is not preventing most Yukoners from going about their daily lives.

Canada Post workers were an exception today, though.

The cold weather was enough to shut down operations at the Canada Post terminal at the top of Two Mile Hill in Whitehorse, due to broken pipes.

As a result, there is no mail delivery today.

Doug Wright, Canada Post's officer for the Yukon and B.C., said this morning employees are being "kept out of the building for health and safety reasons," but that operations will be running again by Monday.

The pipes broke after they froze Thursday night in -40 C conditions, said Wright.

Meanwhile, the schools in Mayo and Carmacks are going about business as usual, despite the frigid temperatures, the schools' principals said this morning.

"There's a real realization that we need to work on basic school operations," said Bruce MacGregor, principal of the J.V. Clarke School in Mayo.

"The (school) buses are running," he added.

MacGregor said the community has experienced several days of temperatures in the -50 range.

"Attendance yesterday was much better than today," he said.

Grade 7 has about 50 per cent attendance today compared to 100 per cent yesterday, he said, and Grade 4 has an 80 per cent attendance rate compared to 100 per cent Thursday.

MacGregor said attendance sometimes improves in the afternoons, since temperatures often change during the day.

"It's entirely at the parents' discretion," he said.

"Attendance dips and falls. It's impacted for sure (by the cold weather)," said Cully Robinson, principal of the Tantalus School in Carmacks.

He added that the school is going about business as usual, and provides students with the opportunity to play "multiple sports," such as dodgeball, during recess times in the gym.

Cpl. Wayne Gork, an RCMP officer stationed in Carmacks, said this morning the numbing weather has had a significant impact on vehicles.

"A lot of systems are starting to break down in -50 C weather," he said this morning. "We have seen our fair share of calls for abandoned vehicles and breakdowns."

Gork said he noticed that brakes on his own truck had frozen at one point, because the brake pedal was very hesitant to "come back" after being depressed.

"(The cold) can have a detrimental effect on mechanical operation," said Gork.

He urged motorists to slow down while driving, because frost makes the roadways very slippery.

He also said people should try to confine their driving to daylight hours, when visibility is better and temperatures slightly warmer.

"The reality is you could end up freezing to death," said Gork. He was referring to motorists who drive on isolated stretches of highway at night and who could have their vehicle break down.

Gork said that although there has not beeen a lot of traffic in Carmacks lately, traffic on the highway is much heavier.

"I'm astounded that so many people are driving in weather like this," he said.

Gork also said that normal activity in Carmacks is "operating on a limited basis" because people are staying indoors.