January 2020 Arctic Blast Contest

[Canada Goose]

I think you mean -48.5.

No, it was for yesterday.

-48.8C today. Coldest temp. in BC since... ?

[Glacier]

No, it was for yesterday.

-48.8C today. Coldest temp. in BC since... ?

January 5th 1997.

CHETWYND A = -52
LOWER LIARD BRIDGE = -51
DAWSON CREEK A = -48
GRAHAM INLET = -48
WILLOW RIVER = -46
BLACKWATER CREEK = -46
SWIFT RIVER = -46
PUNTZI MOUNTAIN (AUT) = -45.7

Also, the year earlier was colder even at Puntzi, although only by 0.1C (-48.9C)

LOWER LIARD BRIDGE = -51
MUNCHO LAKE = -50.4
SWIFT RIVER = -50
COAL RIVER = -49.5
PUNTZI MOUNTAIN (AUT) = -48.9
WATCH LAKE NORTH = -48
MESILINKA CAMP = -48
FRASER CAMP = -48
FORT NELSON A = -47.3
ATLIN = -47

[Canada Goose]

January 5th 1997.

CHETWYND A = -52

January 25th, but...
https://climat.meteo.gc.ca/climate_data ... imeframe=1

[SouthSardiswx]

A few thoughts...

- Nearly everyone went too warm for the extreme low.
- Midnight highs last night are going to screw some people.
- Cloud cover is going to screw up a lot the overnight low predictions, and also cap afternoon temperatures lower.

Yes agree Abby Sr. I was under the assumption we'd see more clear breaks I didn't bank on continued cloud cover and snowfalls, I think the other problem was EC's forecasts through this whole period was absolutely out to lunch. I recall last weekend they had sunshine for a couple of day's we know how that turned out. But at the end of it all was pleased with the amount of snow and cold temps out here in the central valley.

[SouthSardiswx]

Well this contest went sideways very quickly thanks to the models more or less collapsing on epic cold that caught us off guard but we should have known it's the west coast.

[Glacier]

Well this contest went sideways very quickly thanks to the models more or less collapsing on epic cold that caught us off guard but we should have known it's the west coast.

BUT, no model was predicting -49C anywhere!

[Glacier]

Okay, so I put the numbers into Excel... and the WINNER is... sardisbcwx.... Congrats!

contestwinners.png

contestwinners2.png

[Roberts Creeker]

Okay, so I put the numbers into Excel... and the WINNER is... sardisbcwx.... Congrats!

contestwinners.png

contestwinners2.png

Well done Sardine!! and very well done everyone, you all were better than TWN.

[Abby_wx]

I'm still a bit surprised by how weak this ended up being. I need to follow the models more closely (something I haven't been doing much lately), but it should have been obvious when they started watering down the cold. All that talk of historic cold, 1968, December 1990, etc.... sure seems silly in retrospect.

[Glacier]

I'm still a bit surprised by how weak this ended up being. I need to follow the models more closely (something I haven't been doing much lately), but it should have been obvious when they started watering down the cold. All that talk of historic cold, 1968, December 1990, etc.... sure seems silly in retrospect.

One thing that did happen though was the lowest ever recorded dew point temperature in BC history. That has to count for something even if the Lower Mainland was a bust.

puntzidewpoint.png

[Abby_wx]

That's an interesting one. In your opinion, was this the most impressive arctic air mass since the mid 90's in the interior?

I was looking at Prince George (STP), and it appears that the cold there was basically on par with December 1990.

It seems like we just can't get the right 500 mb pattern to bring the top tier cold down to the south coast anymore. The cold is there, but we only seem to get a trickle rather than a blast.

[Glacier]

That's an interesting one. In your opinion, was this the most impressive arctic air mass since the mid 90's in the interior?

I was looking at Prince George (STP), and it appears that the cold there was basically on par with December 1990.

It seems like we just can't get the right 500 mb pattern to bring the top tier cold down to the south coast anymore. The cold is there, but we only seem to get a trickle rather than a blast.

Definitely for central BC (including the central coast). Like so many arctic fronts, it seems to have stalled out at it's favourite spot: Clinton. North of that: Cold AF. South:

BTW, one of the reasons why BC has never recorded a -50C dew point before is that humidity measurements could not be taken that cold in the past. Looking around at other stations, Anything prior to about 1980 couldn't, and even until the 2000s some stations like Puntzi couldn't. For example, Puntzi's hydrometer crapped out in 1996 when an equally cold temperature was recorded.

The lowest Puntzi could record in 1996 was -42.8C: https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_d ... 96&Month=1

The main stations like Fort Nelson could definitely go well down below -45C by then. https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_d ... 96&Month=1

Fort Nelson upgraded sometime between 1985 and 1988.

The only place with a lower dew point than Puntzi this year that I can find in Canada is Carmacks, Yukon at -55.7: https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_d ... &Year=2020

Many stations like Carmacks (and maybe Puntzi too) could not record -50 dew points even as recent as 2004.