Colder than Antarctica: Fort St. John one of coldest places on earth amid extreme weather warning

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Two weather stations in Northern B.C. recorded lower temperatures than Antarctica yesterday. 

Amid an ongoing extreme cold weather warning, Fort St. John recorded windchill temperatures of -41C, some of the lowest outdoor temperatures in the world on February 3rd and colder than Antarctica by six degrees. 

According to the Weather Now map, Fort St. John was listed as one of the 14 coldest places in the world on February 3rd.

Only 11 locations around the world recorded temperatures lower than Fort St. John that day, with the coldest recorded being -51C at a weather station in Mirny, Russia. 

Outside Canada, only four locations in the world were noted to be as cold during the same timeframe, in Russia and Antarctica.

In Canada, the coldest temperature of February 3rd was -46C, recorded at a weather station in Peace River.

An extreme cold warning with temperatures reaching -40C was first issued by Environment Canada on January 31st and was expected to last until February 1st. Since being issued, the warning has been extended several times, and now is expected to continue into the morning of February 5th. 

Residents of the region are encouraged to cover up, as in such cold conditions frostbite can develop “within minutes on exposed skin”. 

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