An arctic airflow snap has local cold weather records falling like a toddler learning to skate.
On Dec. 27, Environment Canada’s West Vancouver weather station recorded a temperature of -13 C, the lowest ever for that date. The previous record was -9.6 C in 1996.
Further east, wind chills got as low as -25 C in the Fraser Valley.
“Over the past few days, we've had just very bitterly cold arctic air that's made its way right to the coast of British Columbia,” said meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau Tuesday (Dec. 28). “We had quite a few new daily records set across the Lower Mainland.”
The weather delivered a rare white Christmas in the Lower Mainland, and kids have been flocking to even the gentlest local hills with toboggans and crazy carpets in hand.
The forecast is slowly warming up between now and New Year’s Day, when temperatures ought to be closer to the freezing mark with the chance of snow on several days – still colder than usual for the Lower Mainland, Charbonneau said.
“We still have arctic outflow warnings in effect,” she said. “We are not out of the cold yet.”
