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As Alberta remained mired in a December deep freeze on Tuesday, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) revealed this week's cold snap has already unofficially smashed over two-dozen weather records.

"An Arctic air mass continues to bring extremely cold temperatures to Alberta," the weather agency said on its website. "On Dec. 19, temperatures plummeted over the province, leading to many daily minimum temperature records being broken in the evening hours."

Global Edmonton meteorologist Jesse Beyer noted Tuesday that "wind chill values could drop close to -50 overnight tonight in parts of the province."

"Wind chills between -40 and -47 can lead to frostbite on exposed skin in five to 10 minutes, (while at) -48 and colder it can set in as soon as two minutes," he added.


"The cold will stick around for the entire work week, improving to the -5 to -10 range through the weekend."

Global Edmonton weather specialist Phil Darlington noted that "it is not totally out of the ordinary to see a lot of weather records broken at once."

"We have had similar cases when all of the province was under a heat warning," he said.

ECCC noted its summary of broken records should be considered "preliminary or unofficial information" until a final report is completed.

The following records were unofficially broken Monday evening:

Banff area
New record of -38.9 C
Old record of -35.6 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1887

Bow Island area
New record of -33.6 C
Old record of -31.7 C set in 1961
Records in this area have been kept since 1961

Bow Valley (Provincial Park) area
New record of -40.5 C
Old record of -36.3 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1928

Claresholm area
New record of -35.8 C
Old record of -32.0 C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1951

Hendrickson Creek area
New record of -45.4 C
Old record of -41.1 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1995

High River area
New record of -34.8 C
Old record of -33.9 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1913

Jasper area
New record of -40.7 C
Old record of -38.9 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1916

Milk River area
New record of -31.8 C
Old record of -26.1 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1994

Pincher Creek area
New record of -31.7 C
Old record of -29.5 C set in 1983
Records in this area have been kept since 1893

Sundre area
New record of -39.6 C
Old record of -36.7 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1993

Red Deer area
New record of -38.7 C
Old record of -36.8 C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1904

Peace River area
New record of -41.0 C
Old record of -40.0 C set in 1970
Records in this area have been kept since 1907

Onefour area
New record of -34.3 C
Old record of -33.3 C set in 1951
Records in this area have been kept since 1928

Breton area
New record of -39.6 C
Old record of -37.0 C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1939

Rocky Mountain House area
New record of -41.8 C
Old record of -41.1 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1915

Cochrane area
New record of -37.8 C
Old record of -35.3 C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1984

Milk River area
New record of -33.1 C
Old record of -32.8 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1994

Banff area
New record of -41.5 C
Old record of -40.6 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1887

Bow Valley (Provincial Park) area
New record of -42.8 C
Old record of -34.4 C set in 1998
Records in this area have been kept since 1928

Bow Island area
New record of -34.4 C
Old record of -34.2 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1961

Lacombe area
New record of -38.6 C
Old record of -38.5 C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1907

High River area
New record of -35.0 C
Old record of -33.9 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1913

Sundre area
New record of -43.0 C
Old record of -39.0 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1993

Hendrickson Creek area
Preliminary new record of -48.2 C
Old record of -39.3 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1995

Beaverlodge area
New record of -39.3 C
Old record of -39.0 C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1912

Drumheller area
New record of -39.6 C
Old record of -36.0 C set in 1989
Records in this area have been kept since 1923

Highvale area
New record of -36.6 C
Old record of -31.4 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1977

Three Hills area
New record of -37.1 C
Old record of -36.1 C set in 1921
Records in this area have been kept since 1921

Cardston area
New record of -35.8 C
Old record of -35.1 C set in 2008
Records in this area have been kept since 1918

Jasper area
New record of -43.2 C
Old record of -39.5 C set in 1990
Records in this area have been kept since 1916