Environment Canada says all of Alberta and most of British Columbia and Saskatchewan, along with parts of Manitoba and Ontario are under extreme cold weather warnings.
For the first time in about eight years, Canada actually recorded a temperature below -51°C (-59.8°F) on December 26, in Rabbit Kettle, Northwest Territories. Louisbourg, Nova Scotia simultaneously became the warmest spot in the country at a balmy 4.6°C (40.3°F). Now that is an impressive national range of nearly 56 degrees.
CTV News Canada is reporting that today’s forecast is for wind chill that can range between -40C and -55C in Edmonton and Calgary.
Environment Canada says that that the cold, arctic air will remain entrenched over western and central Saskatchewan with wind chills of up to -45C, while much of British Columbia will see temperatures dipping to near or below -20C.
The only other place on the planet that is also experiencing extreme cold is Jakutsk in northern Russia, where temperatures are ranging from -40°C to -50°C, reports the Weather Network.
A historical holiday, weatherwise
These extremely cold temperatures are far from normal and these regions in northern Canada typically see values ranging from -10°C to -30°C during the last week of December.
Forecasters are hopeful that a possible pattern reversal could arrive in early 2022 and bring some relief from the dangerous cold. But, while Canada is seeing abnormally cold weather, at the same time, other parts of the world are experiencing record hot weather.
The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) reported that Rio Grande Valley, Texas recorded a high of 34.4°C (94°F) on December 25th, which is the hottest temperature ever recorded on Christmas Day in the United States.
As of Monday morning, there were more than 56,000 homes and businesses without power in California, 11,000 without power in Oregon, and more than 6,000 in Washington, according to PowerOutage.US.
Monday’s high in Seattle, Washington should be just 24 degrees Fahrenheit — the coldest high ever there for this date, breaking the old record by 10 degrees F. The cold will be felt as far south as Riverside, California, where the high won’t hit 50 degrees, which would be another record.
