After waking up to the first White Christmas since 1998, Metro Vancouverites braced for frigid temperatures courtesy of an arctic ridge of high pressure over the B.C. interior.
And while more snow has fallen in the region since the holiday—and more is expected over the weekend—temperatures have started to climb back up. That said, temperatures are still below freezing and drop significantly overnight.
How cold did it get in the region this week?
According to a recent report from The Weather Network, the weather station at Vancouver International Airport recorded its coldest temperature in a whopping 52 years on Dec. 27: -15.3°C.
Report authors note that the frigid low is a "radical departure" from average seasonal temperatures, which normally "languish around the freezing mark when it comes to daytime lows."
The arctic air that has blanketed much of southern B.C. at the end of December has resulted in near-record-breaking lows across the province. However, the prairies have seen dramatically colder weather, with jaw-dropping lows in the negative 30s and 40s.
Extreme cold is forecasted to continue dominating sections of B.C and the majority of the Prairies until the start of 2022. That said, "change is on its way in the new year" as a "pattern shift will allow milder Pacific air to roll inland."
Before then, however, more snowfall is expected on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) and into New Year's Eve Day.
