B.C. community reaches record-breaking -43 C

A thermometer registering -35 C is shown. (Shutterstock.com)

A small community in B.C.’s northwest broke a chilling record on Friday, according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

In Dease Lake, located about 230 kilometres south of the Yukon border, the mercury plunged to -42.8 C, making it the coldest Dec. 12 on record.

The previous lowest daily minimum temperature was on Dec. 12, 1971, when it reached -41.7 C. Temperature records have been kept in the Dease Lake area since 1944.

“The temperature record reported here has been derived from a selection of historical stations in this geographic area that were active during the period of record,” ECCC notes.

Far warmer weather is in the forecast for Dease Lake in the coming days, with highs around -20 C and lows in the mid-negative 20s at night.

The coldest temperature ever recorded in Dease Lake was on Jan. 31, 1947, when the weather station registered a bone-chilling -51.2 C.