59 temperature records broken in a single day as B.C. swelters under 'heat dome'

VANCOUVER -

Dozens of daily heat records fell over the weekend as British Columbians wilted under what has been called a "prolonged heat dome."

The ominous-sounding term from the Weather Network refers to an intense heat that has settled in over much of Western Canada.

What happens, the agency says, is warm air from a high pressure system gets trapped in lower elevations as it's compressed into layers near the surface. 

The Weather Network says it creates a "feedback loop." Essentially, it doesn't get much cooler overnight, leading to more hot days.

The phenomenon has resulted in record-breaking heat in Canada's western-most province, including in the community of Lytton, which saw the hottest temperature ever in Canadian history Sunday, at 46.6 C.

This is 1.6 degrees warmer than the previous record set in Saskatchewan in 1937. 

While the temperatures didn't run as high as in Lytton, nearly five dozen other weather stations operated by Environment Canada also noted record temperatures.

According to preliminary data from the federal weather agency, Sunday was the warmest June 27 on record at 59 weather stations.

Listed alphabetically, records were broken in the following locations:

• Abbotsford area - new record of 41.5, old record of 32.3 set in 2015
• Agassiz area - new record of 40.4, old record of 33.7 set in 2015
• Bella Bella area - new record of 34.2, old record of 24.3 set in 1995
• Bella Coola area (Bella Coola Airport) - new record of 36.0, old record of 35.0 set in 1895
• Blue River area - new record of 37.3, old record of 34.7 set in 2015
• Burns Lake area (Burns Lake Decker Lake) – new record of 38.1, old record of 29.5 set in 1992
• Cache Creek area (Ashcroft) - new record of 45.0, old record of 40.1 set in 2015 C
• Clearwater area - new record of 42.3, old record of 36.9 set in 2015
• Clinton area - new record of 39.0, old record of 32.2 set in 2015
• Comox area - new record of 38.0, old record of 31.1 set in 2015
• Courtenay area - new record of 38.0, old record of 31.1 set in 2015
• Creston area (Creston Campbell Scientific) - new record of 39.0, old record of 37.9 set in 2015
• Dawson Creek area - new record of 36.1, old record of 28.2 set in 2000
• Dease Lake area - new record of 32.0, old record of 27.6 set in 1982
• Esquimalt area (Victoria Gonzales CS) - new record of 38.3, old record of 27.8 set in 1951
• Fort Nelson area - new record of 35.8, old record of 30.4 set in 2004
• Fort St. John area - new record of 35.1, old record of 30.0 set in 1928
• Gibsons area (Sechelt) - new record of 39.6, old record of 30.6 set in 2015
• Golden area (Golden Airport) - new record of 36.7, old record of 35.0 set in 1925
• Gonzales Point area (Victoria Gonzales CS) - new record of 38.3, old record of 27.8 set in 1951
• Hope area (Hope Airport) - new record of 39.9, old record of 33.4 set in 2015
• Kamloops area - new record of 44.0, old record of 38.2 set in 2015
• Kelowna area - new record of 41.5, old record of 38.1 set in 2015
• Lillooet area - new record of 44.8, old record of 39.8 set in 2015
• Lytton area - new record of 46.6, old record of 40.2 set in 2015
• Mackenzie area - new record of 37.3, old record of 28.4 set in 2015
• Malahat area - new record of 38.2, old record of 32.6 set in 2015
• Merritt area - new record of 42.2, old record of 38.0 set in 2015
• Nakusp area - new record of 36.1, old record of 35.3 set in 2015
• Osoyoos area – new record of 42.0, old record of 40.9 set in 2015
• Pemberton area - new record of 40.9, old record of 38.0 set in 2015
• Penticton area - new record of 40.5, old record of 37.8 set in 1925
• Pitt Meadows area – new record of 40.0, old record of 33.9 set in 2015
• Port Alberni area - new record of 41.3, old record of 37.0 set in 2015
• Port Hardy area - New record of 30.2, Old record of 21.3 set in 1995
• Powell River area - New record of 36.6, Old record of 30.0 set in 2015
• Prince George area - New record of 36.4, Old record of 29.4 set in 1928
• Prince Rupert area - New record of 30.0, Old record of 20.4 set in 2013
• Princeton area - New record of 41.4, Old record of 38.5 set in 2015
• Puntzi Mountain area - New record of 38.1, Old record of 31.7 set in 2015
• Quesnel area - New record of 39.9, Old record of 36.7 set in 1925
• Sandspit area - New record of 23.8, Old record of 20.6 set in 2016
• Sechelt area - New record of 39.6, Old record of 30.6 set in 2015
• Smithers area - New record of 37.1, Old record of 29.9 set in 1992
• Squamish area - New record of 41.2, Old record of 32.3 set in 2015
• Summerland area - New record of 38.8, Old record of 36.5 set in 2015
• Tatlayoko Lake area - New record of 37.1, Old record of 31.3 set in 2015
• Terrace area - New record of 35.6, Old record of 30.1 set in 2016
• Trail area (Warfield RCS) - New record of 42.3, Old record of 40.6 set in 2015
• Vancouver area (Vancouver International Airport) - New record of 31.1, Old record of 27.2 set in 1935
• Vernon area - New record of 41.5, Old record of 37.3 set in 2015
• Victoria area (Victoria International Airport)- New record of 37.7, Old record of 29.5 set in 1995
• Victoria Harbour area (Victoria Gonzales CS) - New record of 38.3, Old record of 27.8 set in 1951
• Victoria (Hartland) area - New record of 38.3, Old record of 27.8 set in 1951
• Victoria (University of) area - New record of 38.3, Old record of 27.8 set in 1951
• Whistler area (Whistler - Nesters) - New record of 40.2, Old record of 34.8 set in 2015
• White Rock area - New record of 36.9, Old record of 29.2 set in 1995
• Williams Lake area - New record of 37.2, Old record of 30.3 set in 2015
• Yoho (National Park) area - New record of 33.3, Old record of 31.1 set in 1925