Moose Jaw residents may have woken up to a very brisk and chilly Wednesday morning.  

Well, that’s because it was, and so cold in fact that Moose Jaw broke a 105-year-old extreme cold record.  

Between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, it was recorded that the low dropped down to 2.9 C, which narrowly broke the record.  

“The old record was 3.3 C for July 5,” Environment Canada Meteorologist, Danielle Desjardins. “I’m seeing some preliminary data that it actually got down to 2.2 C, we will know more once all the data comes in. Either way with the 2.9 C you still set a record, but it might be a little bit more of a record at 2.2 C.” 

That original record of 3.3 C was set back in 1918, with the second closest low at 5.0 C in 1915 and 1956, according to historical Environment Canada data. 

This type of weather is very unusual for July in Moose Jaw with the average high being 26.1 C and the low hovering around 12.3 C throughout the month.  

Desjardins says that the cause of these colder-than-normal temperatures is due to a low-pressure system that swept through the region.  

“It’s all part of the system that tracked through Alberta over the weekend and through you guys and then into Manitoba,” adds Desjardins. “It was a strong cold front that came through and brought cooler temperatures for this time of the year.” 

Things began to really cool down on Tuesday as the high only reached 18.3 C with strong winds. Wednesday will be slightly warmer with a forecasted high of 23 C, with some clouds and a chance of rain.  

Desjardins says thankfully, this cold front is short-lived, as the weather will improve heading into the weekend.  

“Starting on Thursday it’s looking like daytime highs will get into the mid to upper 20s and they’ll stay that way for the weekend.” 

Thursday a high of 27 C is expected, 26 C on Friday, 27 C on Saturday, and then 29 C is forecasted for Sunday.