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Grande Prairie records hottest day in city’s history

The historic heatwave blanketing the region has brought on the highest recorded temperatures in the history of the City of Grande Prairie. According to Environment Canada, it reached at least 40.2 degrees on Tuesday at 4 p.m., making it the hottest day ever in the recorded history of the city.

It surpassed the previous record of 38.4 degrees, which was set just one day earlier on June 28th. The record before that was 36.1 degrees, set Sunday, June 27th.

Monday’s high of 38.4 degrees well surpassed the previous June 28th record of 28.8 degrees set in 2008. It also set a record for the maximum low of 17.8 degrees, when the previous was 14.2 in 2004. The maximum dew point was 18.3 degrees, besting the previous record of 16.2 set in 2007.

Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Janelle Gergely says the last 72 hours are well outside the norm.

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“What’s unique about this is it’s early in the year, early in the summer, it’s quite intense, and it’s really prolonged, so it’s just sitting there.”

Prior to this heatwave, the highest maximum temperature recorded in Grande Prairie was set back on July 22, 2006, at 35.6 degrees. The highest recorded June temperature in Grande Prairie was set back in 1970 at 33.3 degrees.

Gergely says the heatwave has been very unusual, as it hasn’t even offered up any relief when the sun goes down.

“One of the most abnormal things is the evening low, so it hasn’t gotten that low overnight which means you’re not getting that much reprieve from the heat.”

It’s likely that Tuesday’s weather will again break the all-time heat record for the city, with an unofficial temperature of 40.2 degrees recorded in the 4 p.m. hour. A high of 40 degrees is also in the forecast for Wednesday.

Although these hot temperatures are seemingly never-ending, Gergley says they are starting to see the non-overwhelmingly hot light at the end of the tunnel.

“For Grande Prairie, in particular, it will be a slight cool down going into the holiday on July 1st and then more seasonal as you get into the weekend. So these extreme events, although it’s not guaranteed to not happen… it shouldn’t be the usual.”

The average high temperature for Grande Prairie for the month of June is 21 degrees.

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