Deep freeze: A 140-year-old cold record was just shattered in BC
Temperature records were shattered in BC on Thursday, as a wide swath of the province endured a deep freeze that has resulted in extreme cold warnings.
According to a weather summary from Environment and Climate Change Canada, more than 40 (that’s right, 40) spots in the province broke their records for the coldest daytime high records for Thursday, December 22.
Listing all of the records shattered would be wildly long, so we rounded up some of the grandest that occurred, including one that had stood for more than 140 years.
The areas below set a daily minimum temperature record for December 22, 2022:
Abbotsford Area (Abbotsford A)
Preliminary new record of -13.4°C
Old record of -11.7°C set in 1970
Records in this area have been kept since 1944
Blue River Area (Blue River CS)
Preliminary new record of -39.8°C
Old record of -35.8°C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1946
Clearwater Area (Clearwater Auto)
Preliminary new record of -34.5°C
Old record of -27.8°C set in 1924
Records in this area have been kept since 1913
Dawson Creek Area (Dawson Creek A)
Preliminary new record of -41.8°C
Old record of -38.9°C set in 1933
Records in this area have been kept since 1926
Fort Nelson Area (Fort Nelson)
Preliminary new record of -43.6°C
Old record of -39.5°C set in 1984
Records in this area have been kept since 1937
Kamloops Area (Kamloops Aut)
Preliminary new record of -30.2°C
Old record of -25.6°C set in 1891
Records in this area have been kept since 1890
Kelowna Area (Kelowna UBCO)
Preliminary new record of -29°C
Old record of -25.2°C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1899
Lillooet Area (Lillooet)
Preliminary new record of -26.7°C
Old record of -22.2°C set in 1924
Records in this area have been kept since 1917
Malahat Area (Malahat)
Preliminary new record of -12.7°C
Old record of -8.5°C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1986
Nelson Area (Nelson CS)
Preliminary new record of -20.3°C
Old record of -17.2°C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1904
Osoyoos Area (Osoyoos CS)
Preliminary new record of -21.8°C
Old record of -17.5°C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1954
Pitt Meadows Area (Pitt Meadows CS)
Preliminary new record of -12.4°C
Old record of -12.2°C set in 1879
Records in this area have been kept since 1874
Port Alberni Area (Port Alberni (AUT))
Preliminary new record of -13.6°C
Old record of -13.5°C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1900
Prince George Area (Prince George Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -39.9°C
Old record of -38.9°C set in 1924
Records in this area have been kept since 1912
Quesnel Area (Quesnel Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -38.6°C
Old record of -31.1°C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1893
Revelstoke Area (Revelstoke Airport Auto)
Preliminary new record of -26.6°C
Old record of -23.3°C set in 1909
Records in this area have been kept since 1898
Vancouver Area (Vancouver Intl A)
Preliminary new record of -13.5°C
Old record of -11.5°C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1896
Victoria Area (Victoria Intl A)
Preliminary new record of -8.4°C
Old record of -8.3°C set in 1998
Records in this area have been kept since 1914
Victoria Harbour Area (Victoria Gonzales CS)
Preliminary new record of -9.5°C
Old record of -7.8°C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1874
Whistler Area (Whistler – Nesters)
Preliminary new record of -21.4°C
Old record of -20°C set in 1951
Records in this area have been kept since 1950
Environment and Climate Change Canada added that the temperature records reported here have been derived from a selection of historical stations in each geographic area that was active during the period of record.
The summary may also contain preliminary or unofficial information and does not constitute a complete or final report.
Much of the country is being walloped by wicked winter storms on Friday, with flight cancellations galore for major transportation hubs in Vancouver and Toronto.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has also issued a string of weather warnings for every single province in Canada on Friday, varying from extreme cold warnings, snowfall warnings, and freezing rain warnings to wind warnings, storm surge warnings, and rainfall warnings.