Waterloo Region shatters all-time cold record with low of - 34. 1 C
An unofficial all-time record low temperature of - 34.1 C was recorded at 7 a.m. at Region of Waterloo International Airport Monday morning.
Geoff Coulson, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, says the record is unofficial as of yet, as temperatures may have dropped even further until around 8:30 a.m. Results will be in early on Monday afternoon.
Temperatures have been recorded at the airport since 1971, and the coldest ever recorded was - 31.9 C on Jan. 16, 1984.
Between 1915 and 1977, temperatures were recorded at a site in downtown Kitchener, and the lowest ever reported was - 33.9 C on Feb. 9, 1934.
Monday's cold shatters both records.
"This was getting into the depth of a bitterly cold arctic air mass...that air mass just became reinforced overnight last night. We had clear skies, which allows us to radiate even more heat off in the atmosphere to cool the surface of the earth even further," said Coulson.
Many single-day records were broken across the province, but Coulson believes Kitchener is the only one that set an all-time record.
Monday weather outlook
Temperatures around Waterloo Region continue to hover well below seasonal values on Monday, albeit under sunny skies.
Temperatures will hit a high of - 14 C with winds of 15 km/h bringing wind chill down to - 28.
Temperatures will hit a low of - 19 C Monday night, with winds still gusting at 15 km/h bringing wind chill to - 25.
The normal high temperature of this time of year for the region is - 2 C, while the normal low is - 10 C.