Hottest Canadian temperature record established during BC heatwave

The historic west coast heatwave is putting a strain on the power grid in British Columbia. BC Hydro set a record for consumption on Sunday, with several outages reported due to equipment failure.

Historic western heatwave has established hundreds of new temperature records

UPDATE: Wednesday, June 30: For the third consecutive day, Lytton, B.C. has smashed the Canadian high temperature record that had stood for 84 years. The high in Lytton on Wednesday afternoon was an astonishing 49.6C (121.3F), absolutely unheard of in Canada. Until this week, the record belonged to Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan with 45C (113F) set during the dust bowl year of 1937. 

Lytton's 49.6C is higher than the all-time record high temperature of 47.2C (117F) for the desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada. The heat is taking its toll with dozens of fatalities now being reported that are directly linked to heat exhaustion or heat exposure. Slightly cooler air will provide some relief for the coastal regions today, as the dome of hot air shifts east into Alberta and Saskatchewan. The forecast high in Vancouver today is a much cooler 26C (79F) while Lytton will "drop" to 41C (106F).

The stifling heat of the day has only chilled a little at night, with many locations in interior B.C. remaining in the middle to high 20s all night. Kamloops was over 30C (86F) until after 4am Wednesday  morning.

UPDATE, Tuesday, June 29: Another day of the historic western heatwave and hundreds more high temperatures records have been shattered from British Columbia to Saskatchewan. The all-time Canadian record high that had stood for over 84 years has fallen for the second time in less than 24 hours. Lytton RCS in the Frasier Valley recorded an unbelievable scorching hot 47.9C (118.2F) on Monday afternoon, beating the record of 46.6C set just the day before at the same location. The previous benchmark for Canada was 45C (113F) set in Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan during the dust bowl year of 1937.

The record heat has surged as far north as the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Alaska. The Nahanni Butte Area of the NWT set an all-time territory record with a high of 38.1C (100.5F) on Monday. Whitehorse in the Yukon reached 30.1C (86F). We are likely not done with the records, as the heatwave is expected to persist throughout the week. Stay tuned!

Previous Post: Records are meant to be broken, and this one stood for 84 years. Established during the dust bowl and dirty thirties, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada was 45C (113F), set on July 5, 1937 in Yellow Grass and Midale, Saskatchewan. That was until yesterday.

A hot dome of high pressure has rewritten the record books across western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of new daily, monthly and all-time temperature records have been established, including the benchmark temperature for Canadian heat. On Sunday afternoon, June 27, 2021, Lytton, on the Frasier River in southern interior British Columbia, reached 46.6C (115.9F) smashing the old record. It may get even hotter this week, with a high of 47C forecast both Monday and Tuesday.

Just as a comparison, you know how hot the weather has been in Montreal over the last 24 hours, and that was with a high of 32.5C (90.5F).

The unprecedented heat has put an incredible strain on the electric grid across the region as well as making it extremely dangerous for residents, animals and those who must work outdoors. The fire risk is also elevated across the region as the forests remain tinder dry. The heatwave is forecast to last all week, spreading east into Alberta and Saskatchewan. Even Edmonton is forecasting high temperatures close to 40C. No relief is expected before next weekend at the earliest.