Canada's Winter Extremes
The coldest and snowiest places in Canadian history
Right now at my home in Alberta, it is snowing. Nothing unusual for March. The temperatures may be warming but snowstorms are always a feature of the month.
It got me thinking about snowfall and weather extremes in Canada during the winter.
To that end, let’s look at the times that Mother Nature took things up to 11 in Canada.
Coldest Temperature
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Canadian history was -63 degrees Celsius. It happened at Snag, Yukon on Feb. 3, 1947. It was said to be so cold you could hear people talking from kilometres away. The breath you exhaled also crystalized and fell to the ground.
Most Snow In A Winter
The record for most snow goes to Mount Copeland, British Columbia. During the winter of 1971-72, 2,446 centimetres, or 24 metres, of snow fell.
Most Snow In One Day
When it comes to the most snow in a single day, that record goes to Tahtsa Lake, British Columbia. On Feb. 11, 1999, 145 centimetres, or 1.4 metres, fell on the ground. That is a lot of snow to shovel!
Lowest Wind Chill Reading
No one likes wind chill, but the coldest wind chill ever recorded happened on Jan. 13, 1975 when -78.9 degrees Celsius was recorded in Kugaaruk, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut).
The Coldest Month
Snow is bad enough, but what about the coldest month ever recorded in Canadian history? This is based off the average minimum temperature. The record is held by Eureka, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut) in February 1979. That month, the temperature averaged -50.1 degrees Celsius for a low.