Record Breaking #Cold of -48.5C Hits #Chilcotin, #BritishColumbia, #Canada

A bitterly cold Arctic ridge of high pressure is bringing extreme cold to the north, east and central parts of British Columbia with some regions dipping close to –50 C.

According to Environment Canada, the Chilcotin region registered –48.5 C Tuesday morning, breaking the previous cold record of –43.4 C for Jan. 14 that was set in 2005

The entire province of Alberta and parts of Saskatchewan are also under the extreme cold warning issued by Environment Canada, which is expected to persist into Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Metro Vancouverites are getting blasted with the coldest day of the winter season with daytime highs expected to hit –5 C.

Gusty winds from an Arctic outflow will make it feel more like –15 C across parts of Howe Sound and Fraser Valley.

CBC Vancouver meteorologist Brett Soderholm says things will gradually warm up over the next few days. However, more snow is expected Thursday night and again toward the end of the week when it could get really messy.

“With cold air already in place, this snow will be light and fluffy. However, we could still see anywhere between five to 15 centimetres of it accumulate between Tuesday and Wednesday across the Lower Mainland,” he said.

“Later this week, temperatures will be moderating slightly but yet another system is likely to impact the region on Thursday bringing with it more snow or a rain/snow mix.”

Snowfall warnings are in place for Vancouver Island, including Victoria, the Southern Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast with 10 to 15 centimetres of snow expected by Wednesday morning.

Environment Canada is warning about rapidly accumulating snow and potentially hazardous driving conditions in those regions.

“Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow,” says the alert.

Courtesy of cbc.ca

https://tinyurl.com/uhs48z5

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