Skip to content

School buses cancelled in all Cariboo communities, Puntzi Mountain records temperature of -48.5C

Frostbite can develop within minutes: Environment Canada
20133941_web1_schoolbus
School buses are not running in the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House areas Tuesday, Jan. 14. (Angie Mindus photo)

Extreme weather forced the cancellation of School District 27 and 28 buses servicing the Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House areas Tuesday.

School District 27 posted the cancellation early Tuesday morning, which was the second day in a row for buses in the Horsefly, Likely, Big Lake, Alexis Creek, Tatla Lake and Anahim Lake areas.

Williams Lake reached its coldest temperature of -36C at 7 a.m. while 100 Mile House reached -31C by 9 a.m. Outlying areas were even colder such as -37C in Horsefly east of Williams Lake and a record-breaking -48.5C at Puntzi Mountain west of Williams Lake, the coldest spot in B.C.

School District 28 made the call to cancel all its bus runs at 6:59 a.m. It was the second day in a row for bus cancellations in Quesnel.

Tuesday morning Quesnel was recording a temperature of -38.2C at 9 a.m.

An extreme cold warning continues over much of the province, with bitterly cold arctic air entrenched over the Interior until at least Wednesday, Jan. 15.

Occasional winds to 15 km/h will give wind chill values down to -40C.

Read More: School buses cancelled east and west of Williams Lake due to extreme cold Monday

Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill, warns Environment Canada.

Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Del Byron reminded motorists to dress warm and keep emergency supplies in their vehicles.

Read More: Stop throwing snow to solve disputes, Trail RCMP says

DriveBC, meanwhile, reported slippery sections and reduced visibility on sections of most highways in the Cariboo Chilcotin.



Do you have a comment about this story? email:
editor@wltribune.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

++


Angie Mindus

About the Author: Angie Mindus

A desire to travel led me to a full-time photographer position at the Williams Lake Tribune in B.C.’s interior.
Read more