December was definitely colder than usual in the Cariboo, but how did it stand up to record cold temperatures from the past?
“The mean temperature in Quesnel for the month of December was minus 13.8 and the normal mean temperature is minus 5.9 and if you look at the period of record, it’s the 7th coldest December that we’ve had in the history of Quesnel and that record goes back to 1898. Looking at Williams Lake, it was cold. It was minus 13.5 and the normal mean temperature is minus 7.3 so it’s the 4th coldest in the period of record for Williams Lake and the record goes back to 1961. So it was definitely a cold month.”
When it came to snowfall amounts in those cities in December, it was the 28th wettest in Quesnel with 60 point 7 millimeters and the average is 41 point 6.
Not all the data for Williams Lake was available but Proctor said it’s pretty close to Quesnel’s total.
When asked about how the remainder of the first week of the New Year looks in the Cariboo Proctor said temperatures will continue to be below normal for this time of year with another system moving in bringing periods of snow Wednesday night into Thursday and by Monday the temperature should be around minus 2.