Temperature bottoms out at 61 below zero in northwestern Canadian town
By
Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 12, 2021 10:00 PM EDT
|
Updated Feb 14, 2021 5:05 PM EDT
A map showing where Wekweeti in Canada's Northwest Territories is located compared to Toronto, about 1,900 miles away. (AccuWeather)
AccuWeather
Due to the polar vortex, a fresh batch of Arctic air made its way into Canada this past week, leaving some major Canadian cities battling subzero temperatures. Through early week, this brutal cold will also infiltrate the United States and challenge numerous daily records.
Canada's national weather service, Environment Canada, reported a reading of -51.9 C (or about -61 F) in Wekweeti of the Northwest Territories on Sunday, the lowest recorded temperature in the country since 2017, according to CTV News. Wekweeti is about 1,900 miles northwest of Toronto.
Temperatures across the entire country through the end of the weekend could be below freezing, a difficult feat given the different climates from coastal locations to the Prairies.
On the West Coast, Vancouver, British Columbia, hovered near or below freezing through Saturday night while on the East Coast, St. John's, Newfoundland, will likely stay in the 20s F through the middle of the upcoming week. In between, high temperatures from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, may struggle to reach -10 F through the end of the weekend.
"The Arctic air is not likely to stop in Canada as we move forward into the upcoming week. Temperatures will be dropping rapidly across portions of the United States through early Tuesday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
The extreme cold has already left much of the northern U.S. in a deep freeze this past week, setting numerous daily records. On Friday, a number of low-temperature records were toppled in Montana, including one that went back more than 100 years. The mercury hit -34 F in Lewistown, a new daily record that surpassed the -30 reading that was set back in 1905. That wasn't even the most extraordinary record set in the state, however. Dunkirk, Montana, recorded a temperature of -40, shattering the daily record of -32 from 2018.
One wave of cold began during the latter half of the first week of February when multiple cities across the United States spent several days reporting constant subzero temperatures. Cities such as Minot and Grand Forks, North Dakota, have spent more than a week below zero degrees.
No reprieve from the cold is expected for the Midwest and northern Plains through early week. Minneapolis and International Falls, Minnesota, are unlikely to push above zero F until Monday afternoon, and perhaps not until Tuesday. It may take until Tuesday afternoon until the city of Chicago is able to surpass the 10 F mark.
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"Overnight low temperatures could challenge daily record low temperatures in places like Minneapolis early this week," Sojda said.
The above graphic shows the consecutive number of hours that select cities have been below zero, as of 10 a.m. EST Friday. All of these cities have since remained below zero since Friday morning.
Any gusty winds could bring AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures down to -20, -30, even -40 degrees, making lengthy exposure outdoors dangerous.
The cold will ride in behind a major snowstorm sweeping from the Northwest to Plains this weekend, allowing the cold to sink even farther south through the central Plains and even into Oklahoma and Texas.
In Denver, Monday morning's low temperature record of -10 degrees, from back in 1900, could be challenged.
Omaha, Nebraska, is likely to have afternoon high temperatures below zero, with a record-challenging low of -20 expected Monday night. In Oklahoma City, high temperatures are unlikely to break 10 degrees through Monday as overnight lows drop below zero, obliterating records from the early 1900s.
The lingering cold will make it difficult to naturally melt any of the snow or ice that accumulates over the weekend across the region.
The cold is expected to ease a bit in the central U.S. by the middle of the week, but enough subfreezing temperatures are likely to stick around to threaten even more wintry weather late in the week from Texas to Michigan.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Temperature bottoms out at 61 below zero in northwestern Canadian town
By Courtney Travis, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Feb 12, 2021 10:00 PM EDT | Updated Feb 14, 2021 5:05 PM EDT
A map showing where Wekweeti in Canada's Northwest Territories is located compared to Toronto, about 1,900 miles away. (AccuWeather)
Due to the polar vortex, a fresh batch of Arctic air made its way into Canada this past week, leaving some major Canadian cities battling subzero temperatures. Through early week, this brutal cold will also infiltrate the United States and challenge numerous daily records.
Canada's national weather service, Environment Canada, reported a reading of -51.9 C (or about -61 F) in Wekweeti of the Northwest Territories on Sunday, the lowest recorded temperature in the country since 2017, according to CTV News. Wekweeti is about 1,900 miles northwest of Toronto.
Temperatures across the entire country through the end of the weekend could be below freezing, a difficult feat given the different climates from coastal locations to the Prairies.
On the West Coast, Vancouver, British Columbia, hovered near or below freezing through Saturday night while on the East Coast, St. John's, Newfoundland, will likely stay in the 20s F through the middle of the upcoming week. In between, high temperatures from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, may struggle to reach -10 F through the end of the weekend.
"The Arctic air is not likely to stop in Canada as we move forward into the upcoming week. Temperatures will be dropping rapidly across portions of the United States through early Tuesday," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda.
The extreme cold has already left much of the northern U.S. in a deep freeze this past week, setting numerous daily records. On Friday, a number of low-temperature records were toppled in Montana, including one that went back more than 100 years. The mercury hit -34 F in Lewistown, a new daily record that surpassed the -30 reading that was set back in 1905. That wasn't even the most extraordinary record set in the state, however. Dunkirk, Montana, recorded a temperature of -40, shattering the daily record of -32 from 2018.
One wave of cold began during the latter half of the first week of February when multiple cities across the United States spent several days reporting constant subzero temperatures. Cities such as Minot and Grand Forks, North Dakota, have spent more than a week below zero degrees.
No reprieve from the cold is expected for the Midwest and northern Plains through early week. Minneapolis and International Falls, Minnesota, are unlikely to push above zero F until Monday afternoon, and perhaps not until Tuesday. It may take until Tuesday afternoon until the city of Chicago is able to surpass the 10 F mark.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Overnight low temperatures could challenge daily record low temperatures in places like Minneapolis early this week," Sojda said.
The above graphic shows the consecutive number of hours that select cities have been below zero, as of 10 a.m. EST Friday. All of these cities have since remained below zero since Friday morning.
Any gusty winds could bring AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures down to -20, -30, even -40 degrees, making lengthy exposure outdoors dangerous.
The cold will ride in behind a major snowstorm sweeping from the Northwest to Plains this weekend, allowing the cold to sink even farther south through the central Plains and even into Oklahoma and Texas.
In Denver, Monday morning's low temperature record of -10 degrees, from back in 1900, could be challenged.
Omaha, Nebraska, is likely to have afternoon high temperatures below zero, with a record-challenging low of -20 expected Monday night. In Oklahoma City, high temperatures are unlikely to break 10 degrees through Monday as overnight lows drop below zero, obliterating records from the early 1900s.
The lingering cold will make it difficult to naturally melt any of the snow or ice that accumulates over the weekend across the region.
The cold is expected to ease a bit in the central U.S. by the middle of the week, but enough subfreezing temperatures are likely to stick around to threaten even more wintry weather late in the week from Texas to Michigan.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo