From frost to scorcher: Saskatchewan swings 35°C in just hours
Was this Canada’s wildest temperature swing? Some diurnal temperature drama unfolded on Monday across Saskatchewan
A surreal temperature range occurred in Saskatchewan on Monday.
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Around sunrise, temperatures bottomed out at:
Val Marie: -1.2°C
Coronach: -0.3°C
But just 12 hours later, temperatures soared well into the 30’s at these same weather stations. The range in temperature in Val Marie reached 35.3°C -- an incredible feat during meteorological summer.
Val Marie: 34.1°C
Coronach: 32.3°C
So how did we go from frost to furnace?
How did it get so cold? Val Marie is situated in a broad valley near the Frenchman River. This enhances the overnight cooling as sinking air is trapped in the valley bottoms. Some chilly air was leftover from a trough in the eastern Prairies over the weekend.
Clear skies provide radiative cooling, with heat escaping into space. Light winds also allow cold, dense air to settle near the ground.
How did it get so warm? The ridge of high pressure providing ample warm weather across B.C. and Alberta nosed into the southwest corner of the province, causing 10°C+ temperature anomalies to develop by Monday afternoon.
Localized downsloping winds due to higher terrain surrounding both of these communities helped to bump up the warmth, as well.
