Vancouver broke a 103-year-old temperature record today
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any colder.
According to Environment Canada, Vancouver has brokenĀ yet another temperature record.
Armel Castellan, Environment Canada Meteorologist, tells Daily Hive that today is Vancouver’s coldest October 10 in 103 years.
“We saw temperatures of -0.7Ā°C at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR),” he says. “The last time it was this cold was in 1916, with a low temperature of -0.6Ā°C.”
Castellan also explains that it’s the first time in over 50 years that the YVR airport has registered negative temperatures in early October.
“The last time that we saw negative temperatures in early October was 1966,” he says. “It’s rare to get these negative temperatures, most occurrences are around the turn of the century or even the 19th century.”
- See also:Ā
He also explains that part of the reason for the low temperatures is Vancouver’s clear skies — clouds can provide a form of insulation but a lack of clouds can allow heat to escape into the upper atmosphere.
“A lot of the clouds that the West Coast sees acts as a blanket. Even if the sun doesn’t have a huge impact [on the temperature], it’ll stick due to the clouds. If you don’t have it, it’s like you’re sleeping naked — you’re radiating that temperature out into the upper atmosphere.”
So what’s to expect for the rest of the week? Castellan says that Vancouver could see one more day of below-average temperatures.
“There’s one more night that we’re gonna dip down,” he says. “Conditions will stay clear until tomorrow. Friday evening we might see the clouds come back and temperatures rise.”
Tuesday’s low temperatures, which broke an 89-year-record in Vancouver, were also widespread around the province. Castellan says that in total, 24 records were broken in British Columbia on Tuesday, including Abbotsford, which broke a temperature record dating back to 1945.
