As the hours turn into days, and the days turn into a week – many Canadians have grown more and more frustrated with the freezing temperatures rocking provinces from coast to coast. Here’s a recap of weather records broken across the western/central parts of the country over the Christmas holiday and more information about what’s to come.
ALBERTA
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Alberta is certainly no stranger to chill, but that doesn’t mean doing errands under 6 layers of clothing is any more enjoyable. This year, Grande Prairie was actually the part of the province seeing the worst of it, plummeting to an insane -44° C or (-56° C with the windchill) breaking a record low which was recorded back in 1984.
Of course, this wasn’t the only area that saw historically low temperatures
Edmonton dropped to -41.6° C (-55° C with windchill) while Calgary hit -31° C (or -43° C with windchill). Ooof.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
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BC has had quite the year in terms of extreme weather. This season, of course, has been no exception.
Just on Boxing Day (December 26th) alone, the province broke 20 outstanding records.
The towns that saw the worst of it? Prince George, whose residents saw a dip of -40.7° C out-freezing a previous low of -40° C which was set back in 1933.
Fort Nelson and the Burns Lake area also saw freezing temperatures of -39° C (Burns) and 40.6° C mi 40.6° C (Fort Nelson.)
SASKATCHEWAN
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Luckily, for those in Saskatchewan, the freezing cold hasn’t hit full force just yet – but it’s coming, and it’s coming fast!
While it’s still been pretty cold in the area, tomorrow, Thursday, December 30th, those in Saskatoon can expect lows of -38° C, which will feel more like -46° C, so stay in and stay safe!
Sadly, with extreme cold warnings having been issued today in each province by Environment Canada, we’re not out of the woods quite yet.
BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and parts of Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario will continue to feel the effects of the Polar Vortex for the next 24 hours – with it breaking in some areas as early as tomorrow.
Winter has just started, folks – so buckle in and prepare yourselves. It’s going to be a frigid one here in Canada!
