Cold weather records broken in 5 northern B.C. communities

A sign welcoming people to Smithers, B.C., is seen in this photo from 2018. (Shutterstock.com)

While summer is well on the way for most of the province, five communities in northern B.C. experienced their coldest May 31 on record Sunday, according to Environment Canada data.

The chilliest record-breaking temperature recorded was in Burns Lake, where it dipped to -5.1 C, just surpassing its previous record of -4.7 C set in 2023.

In Terrace, a daily minimum record of 1.1 C set all the way back in 1931 was narrowly beat with a temperature of 0.9 C.

The mercury dropped to -2.1 C in Smithers, breaking its 1976 record of -1.1 C.

The final cold record was recorded in Bella Bella, where a temperature of 1.9 C was one-tenth of a degree lower than its previous low from 2018.

Environment Canada says its reported records are “derived from a selection of historical stations in each geographic area that were active during the period of record” and may contain preliminary or unofficial information.