The past few days have been some of the coldest that Burnaby and Metro Vancouver have experienced in quite some time.
And the low temperatures have created a wonderland of icy sculptures that were captured by local photographer Glen Govier, who sent the NOW some of the most amazing that he found at the cranberry farms in South Burnaby.
“When extreme weather is on the way, the cranberry farmers deliberately sprinkle the plants to freeze them in position to protect them from the weather,” Govier said. “In particular from high winds pushing them all to face one direction. The photos are the result of this sprinkling process.”
According to data posted to Reddit by user r/VancouverWxRecords and confirmed by Environment Canada, Friday's low of -6.8°C, which occurred at 2 a.m., was the lowest temperature recorded in Vancouver on Feb. 12 in more than 70 years.
The year 1949 still holds the title for the coldest Feb. 12 on record, when temperatures in Vancouver plunged to a chilly -9.4°C.
But at earlier that morning, at around 1 a.m., Vancouver's windchill factor managed to bust the record for the windchilliest Feb. 12 since record-keeping began in 1953, when it felt like -11.4°C. That record was previously set in 2019, when conditions in the Lower Mainland felt like -6.9°C with the windchill.
Environment Canada's Arctic outflow warning remained in effect for the region on Friday, while frigid winds—and snow—continued through Saturday morning. However, temperatures will continue to warm slightly and moderate this weekend.
- With files from Megan Lalonde, Vancouver is Awesome
