11 areas in BC saw record-breaking cold temperatures on Wednesday

Snow covers British Columbia's Highway 99 (DriveBC)

British Columbia’s ongoing cold snap saw the province break nearly a dozen records for low temperatures on Wednesday.

According to Environment Canada, 11 records were broken in total. The coldest temperature recorded in BC on Wednesday was -41°C, a new low in the Puntzi Mountain area.

Quesnel saw low temperatures of -35.3°C, breaking the previous record of -34.4°C, which was set in 1905.

And it’s not just BC that’s feeling the cold. Wednesday was the third time in more than 100 years that every provincial capital in Canada was below the freezing mark.

To pull off this incredibly rare and complex feat, a variety of different parts of the atmosphere have to work together in order to get every square centimetre of the country to below freezing.

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Here are the following areas in the province that set a daily minimum temperature record on Wednesday, February 10:

Burns Lake Area (Burns Lake Decker Lake)
Preliminary new record of -40.2°C
Old record of -33.4°C set in 2018
Records in this area have been kept since 1949

Clinton Area (Clinton RCS)
Preliminary new record of -31.0°C
Old record of -29.8°C set in 2019
Records in this area have been kept since 1974

Dease Lake Area (Dease Lake (AUT))
Preliminary new record of -40.7°C
Old record of -37.8°C set in 1951
Records in this area have been kept since 1944

Mackenzie Area (Mackenzie Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -31.6°C
Old record of -28.5°C set in 2014
Records in this area have been kept since 1971

Prince Rupert Area (Prince Rupert)
Preliminary new record of -15.1°C
Old record of -12.2°C set in 1975
Records in this area have been kept since 1908

Puntzi Mountain Area (Puntzi Mountain (AUT))
Preliminary new record of -41.0°C
Old record of -38.8°C set in 2019
Records in this area have been kept since 1959

Quesnel Area (Quesnel Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -35.3°C
Old record of -34.4°C set in 1905
Records in this area have been kept since 1893

Sandspit Area (Sandspit Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -7.0°C
Old record of -6.7°C set in 1975
Records in this area have been kept since 1945

Smithers Area (Smithers Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -34.8°C
Old record of -30.6°C set in 1939
Records in this area have been kept since 1938

Terrace Area (Terrace A)
Preliminary new record of -19.4°C
Old record of -18.9°C set in 2018
Records in this area have been kept since 1912

Williams Lake Area (Williams Lake A)
Preliminary new record of -30.2°C
Old record of -29.9°C set in 2019
Records in this area have been kept since 1960

And on Thursday, as the Arctic outflow continues across the province, Vancouver could also break a record for daily minimum temperature — one that’s been in place for 116 years.

The current record for Vancouver’s lowest temperature on February 11 is -8.3°C, which was set in 1905. Environment Canada Meteorologist Bobby Sekhon says that a low of -8°C is anticipated on Thursday, bringing temperatures fairly close to the record.