Weather warnings for extreme cold were again issued for most of British Columbia on Tuesday.
The warnings stem from a continuing Arctic ridge of high pressure, along with cold northeasterly outflow winds. The warnings stretch from the far north and extend to the Lower Mainland in the southwest and the Kootenays in the east.
Notably, there are no warnings for the Okanagan or Vancouver Island, where temperatures are still well below seasonal averages.
For Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and the Sunshine Coast, Arctic outflow warnings have been issued. Environment Canada says Arctic outflow winds and low temperatures will produce wind-chill values near or below -20 until Wednesday.
“An Arctic ridge of high pressure over the B.C. Interior is bringing strong and bitterly cold outflow winds to the coastal communities, resulting in very cold wind chill values,” said the national weather agency.
“Mainland inlets and areas that are exposed to outflow winds are more likely to experience these very cold wind chill values. The cold wind chill will moderate during the day on Wednesday as temperatures increase.”
Environment Canada noted that frostbite and hypothermia can occur within minutes if adequate precautions are not taken when outdoors.
For the North Coast, Artic outflow warnings have also been issued, and wind-chill values of -20 to -30 are expected until month’s end.
Elsewhere, extreme cold warnings are in place.
For the Peace River region south to the Cariboo, the very cold air mass, combined with light to moderate winds, will give wind-chill values of -40 or lower from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.
Environment Canada noted that another round of extreme cold wind chill of -40 or lower is possible on Friday morning.
For the Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, Shuswap and southern Alberta border regions, moderate winds will lead to wind-chill values of -35 or lower through to Wednesday morning, while a second round of -35 or lower is possible on Friday morning.
Looking ahead, Environment Canada is forecasting warmer temperatures, but not until Saturday.
For Vancouver, Tuesday through to Friday will see daily highs of -3 C to -5 C and overnight lows of -6 to -10 C. Saturday will warm up to 0 C, albeit with periods of snow.
For Victoria, Tuesday through to Friday will see highs of 0 to -3 C and lows of -4 to -8 C, with Saturday seeing temperatures between 1 and 4 C and flurries or rain.
In the Okanagan, Tuesday through to Friday will see highs of -13 to -18 C and lows of -17 to -20 C, with Saturday seeing a 60 per cent chance of flurries, along with temperatures of -9 to -10 C.
Further north, Prince George will see highs of -21 to -24 C and lows of -22 to -31 C, with Saturday’s temperatures projected to have a high of -10 C and a low of -20 C.
On Monday, many communities in B.C. set daily lows for Dec. 27, including:
- Abbotsford (new record: -15.6, old record: -15.0, 1968)
- Agassiz (new record: -16.5, old record: -13.9, 1968)
- Bella Bella (new record: -12.8, old record: -8.0, 1996)
- Clinton (new record: -35.8, old record: -26.0, 1992)
- Gibsons (new record: -11.6, old record: -5.6, 1968)
- Hope (new record: -18.4, old record: -17.8, 1968)
- Malahat area (new record: -11.6, old record: -2.5, 1992)
- Osoyoos (new record: -17.9, old record: -15.6, 1971)
- Penticton (new record: -20.6, old record: -19.4, 1968)
- Port Alberni (new record: -16.5, old record: -9.4, 1968)
- Powell River (new record: -12.0, old record: -8.9, 1968)
- Quesnel (new record: -38.9, old record: -38.6, 1996)
- Sparwood (new record: -31.2, old record: -30.6, 1971)
- Squamish (new record: -15.0, old record: -12.8, 1968)
- Summerland (new record: -22.4, old record: -20.6, 1971)
- Vancouver (new record: -15.3, old record: -12.8, 1971)
- White Rock (new record: -13.0, old record: -11.1, 1968).
For more about Environment Canada, visit its website.