A number of cold temperature records were shattered at the West Kootenay Regional Airport during the month of October, according to Southeast Fire Centre weather forecaster Jesse Ellis.
Ellis said three minimum temperature records were set between Oct. 22 and 26 after a northerly air stream pushed its way into the West Kootenay. On Oct. 25, a minimum temperature of -8.6 degrees Celsius was recorded and beat the old minimum temperature record of -7.3 C that was set in 2002.
The cold conditions also resulted in substantial snowfall for the West Kootenay region.
“After the local air mass had been cooled below seasonal normals on Oct. 21 and 22, a relatively small Pacific storm that tracked fairly quickly southeastward from the north end of Vancouver Island into Montana over a 24-hour period produced 11.4 centimetres of snow locally,” said Ellis.
The snowfall was one of the earliest to occur in recent history in the West Kootenay. Over the last 20 years, 2006 and 2009 were the only other years where snowstorms brought over five centimetres of snow to the region.
The biggest snowfall ever to occur in the West Kootenay in October was in 1975. During Oct. 25 of that year, 12.7 cm of snow fell in the region.
Two big rainfall events also occurred on Oct. 10 and 16 in the West Kootenay, producing 12.8 millimetres and 16.44 mm of rain respectively.
READ MORE: Blast of winter continues across B.C., bringing frigid weather and more snow
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