Brilliant blues skies and freezing cold temperatures greeted Williams Lake residents Thursday morning, Feb. 11, 2021. (Angie Mindus photo)

Puntzi Mountain coldest place in Canada Thursday morning at -44.4C, Williams Lake -32C low

Cariboo cities experience record low temperatures

Puntzi Mountain in the Chilcotin holds bragging rights of being the coldest place in Canada Thursday morning, Feb. 11, 2021 with a bone-chilling temperature of -44.4C.

Williams Lake was also unseasonably cold Thursday morning, with residents waking up to an early morning temperature of -32C. Quesnel was even colder at -33C.

The 100 Mile House area was the coldest city in the Cariboo with a morning temperature of -38C.

The average low for this time of year is -9.6C, according to Environment Canada.

Several communities in the north and central Interior broke record low temperatures Wednesday, Feb. 10 including Quesnel and Williams Lake.

Quesnel set a preliminary new record of -35.3C at the airport, breaking the old record set in 1905 with a temperature of -34.4C. Records have been kept in Quesnel since 1893.

Williams Lake also set a preliminary new record of -30.2C, breaking the old record of -29.9C set in 2019. Records in Williams Lake have been kept since 1960.

Puntzi Mountain set a new preliminary record too, recording -41C and shattering the old record of -38.8C set in 2019. Records have been kept in the Puntzi Mountain area since 1959.

Arctic air over the region is continuing to give extreme cold wind chill values of near -40C to -45C Thursday morning.

Environment Canada notes in northern B.C., temperatures will slowly climb today but in the central B.C. Interior wind chill values near -40C are forecast to redevelop Thursday night.

Read More: Updated policy sees Cariboo Chilcotin school buses running during extreme cold warning


 

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Williams Lake Tribune