Temperature records fall in B.C., with Victoria beating six-decade low

Below-seasonal winter temperatures continue across much of British Columbia Friday, with Victoria setting a new low for the coldest Jan. 12 on record, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The weather agency says Friday morning's temperature of -11 C at the Victoria International Airport beat the previous record low of -9.4 C set in 1963.

The average high temperature for this day is 6.7 C, while the average low is 0.6 C, according to Environment Canada. The weather office's records for the weather station date back to 1941.

Arctic air warnings remain in place for Greater Victoria, Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the southern Gulf Islands, with the warnings expected to linger until Saturday afternoon.

Daily minimum temperature records were also set in B.C. on Thursday, with the Malahat area posting a new record for the coldest Jan. 11 at -9.1 C, beating the previous record low of -7.8 set in 1998.

Elsewhere, the Bella Bella area on B.C.'s Central Coast saw its daily record minimum temperature of -9.6 C, set in 2007, fall with a new record of -12.7 on Thursday.

The B.C. government is urging people to prepare for extremely cold weather and snow across much of the province.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness says all of the province's extreme-weather response shelters are now open, including more than 5,500 permanent, temporary and extreme-weather shelter spaces.