Skip to content

Quesnel Christmas forecast calls for chilly temperatures

Temperatures on Christmas Day could dip as low as minus 35 Celsius
27601030_web1_211222-QCO-ChristmasWeather-Snow_1
Crews work to clear snow in downtown Quesnel on Tuesday, Dec. 21. The snow is forecasted to leave later in the week, bringing much colder temperatures. (Cassidy Dankochik Photo - Quesnel Cariboo Observer)

When Santa Claus makes his stops in Quesnel, he’ll be looking for a hot coffee instead of a warm milk.

A period of cold weather is forecasted to hit Quesnel starting on Christmas Eve. While anyone braving the outdoors on Christmas Eve will face a low of minus 27 Celsius, Santa can be grateful he isn’t making his rounds on the 25th.

Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor said he thinks the cold temperatures could remain in to the new year.

Proctor said as the weather systems which have been bringing high snowfall move out of the Cariboo region, they will be replaced by colder ones.

READ MORE: Snowfall warning returns for Williams Lake, Quesnel

“The whole pattern is retrograding westward in the Gulf of Alaska, and that’s allowing colder air that’s been damped up over Alaska, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories to start clouding southwards,” he said.

“It’s going to spring across The Rockies and settle over the Cariboo and central interior.”

Saturday night is forecasted to reach minus 35 with a 40 per cent chance of flurries overnight. Anyone looking for outdoor fun on Christmas during the day should bundle up, with a high of minus 23 forecasted by environment Canada.

Boxing day won’t provide much more relief, with a high of minus 27 and a low of minus 35. Normal temperatures this time of year are usually between minus 4 and minus 12.

Proctor said everyone should be careful and dress to the weather as temperatures drop, especially if wind picks up.

“If you’re out travelling in your car, make sure you have a winter safety kit with you in your vehicle,” he said.

“Blankets, a shovel, a candle, a metal tin, so you can actually generate heat inside your vehicle if you do have something happen.”

As for how St. Nick will handle the temperatures, Proctor is optimistic.

“Santa should be dressing for the weather, but he usually doesn’t struggle with the cold like the rest of us,” Proctor said.

WATCH: Celebrating an Old-Fashioned Victorian Christmas in Barkerville

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com


@GimliJetsMan
cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.