Yellowknife (Oct 03/03) - Yellowknife is tops -- at least when it comes to extreme windchill, driest winter, longest snow cover season, and several other dubious honours announced by Environment Canada earlier this week.

After analyzing 30 years worth of weather data from 100 Canadian cities, meteorologists awarded Yellowknife the title of weather champion, scoring first place in 13 out of 72 categories.

The winning categories included glum entries like most windchill days, coldest spring, and coldest year-round weather; but the challenge also gave Yellowknife top marks for the sunniest summer and spring.

Yvonne Bilan-Wallace -- a meteorologist with the Arctic Weather Centre in Edmonton -- says, however, that if Iqaluit were included in the contest it could easily knock Yellowknife off the first-place podium.

Iqaluit wasn't entered because of its comparatively small population (6,000 people).

"You would lose about eight to 10 (gold) medals to Iqaluit," says Bilan-Wallace. "It probably would've been no contest."

Oddly enough, despite all the winning categories for freezing winters, Yellowknife only came in third for "toughest weather." That honour went to St. John's, Nfld. Gander, Nfld., came second.

But Tina Ivany, who lived 21 years in Newfoundland and the last three in Yellowknife, says she's not buying it.

"The cold takes your breath away here, but I've never experienced that in Newfoundland," she counters. "Newfoundland weather is nothing compared to 40 below."

Darlene Blandford, another Newfoundland ex-patriot, says even with Yellowknife's long, sunny summer days, it's still much tougher here than there.

"I still think it's worse here," she says.

"More sun really doesn't matter," Blandford says. "What about all the mosquitoes?"