The western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba were under a heat wave warning leading up to Canada Day.
Many towns across B.C. and Alberta recorded new daily temperature records, with Lytton, B.C. recording the new Canadian temperature record on Tuesday, June 29 with a blistering 49.6 degrees Celsius; in Alberta a total of 38 daily temperature records were broken on the same day.
The Town of Drumheller was among those broken daily temperature records, surpassing a 1937 record temperature of 37.8 degrees, with a new record of 39.3 degrees Celius on Tuesday.
“With all the things we have been through in this part year, I guess we might as well break an 84 year old record,” says Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg. “We are thankful to public works for all their effort on getting the fountain and spray park up and running for our residents and visitors to enjoy during this hot spell, it was truly a blessing.”
Nearby, the Town of Strathmore also recorded a new high temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius. The previous high of 34.4 degrees was recorded in 1937.
The heatwave came to an end on Friday, July 2 as cooler temperatures rolled in, bringing along rain and thunderstorms.
In some areas surrounding the Drumheller Valley these storms also brought quarter-sized hailstones.
Starland County Agriculture Fieldman Ryan Hallett says, “We still have moisture in the ground, although we are in a bit of a deficit, but we should have enough to get crop through flowering.”
He adds there is precipitation in the forecast for this week.
