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Western heat shifts in some areas of B.C., territories, but still blazing elsewhere

Relief is still days away for eastern B.C. and the Prairies
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Leanne Opuyes uses a spray bottle to mist her face while cooling off in the frigid Lynn Creek water in North Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 28, 2021. Environment Canada warns the torrid heat wave that has settled over much of Western Canada won’t lift for days, although parts of British Columbia and Yukon could see some relief sooner. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Record heat is easing for parts of British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories, but Environment Canada warns relief is still days away for eastern B.C. and the Prairies.

The weather office has lifted heat warnings for Yukon, parts of northern B.C. and N.W.T. along the Mackenzie River, but conditions elsewhere remain dangerously hot from southern and central B.C. east to Manitoba.

The village of Lytton, B.C., set a Canadian heat record Tuesday for the third consecutive day as temperatures reached 49.6 C, edging the 47.9 C mark set there on Monday.

In all, 47 heat records were broken in B.C. on Tuesday while 38 fell in Alberta, but Environment Canada says the system that has trapped heat over Western Canada is slowly moving east.

Forecasters are calling for temperatures into the low 40s for B.C.’s Interior regions until Friday while Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba likely won’t see cooling until next week, but conditions that have left Yellowknife sweltering in 30 C heat are expected to lift by the end of the day.

The weather office says the shift to cooler temperatures in B.C. is being followed by unsettled conditions, raising the chance of wildfires as intense thunderstorms are possible from B.C.’s southern Interior to northeast corner.

—The Canadian Press

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