Jessica Gray
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 06/06) - Record high temperatures have made it seem more like November than December this year.

Environment Canada has reported that though Thursday's -15C was much colder than recent record highs, temperatures are still 10 to 15 degrees warmer than usual. On Wednesday, the -3.9C high broke a record set in 1949.

"Temperatures for this time of year are usually highs of -24C and lows of -32C," says Yvonne Bilan-Wallace, a meteorologist at the Arctic Weather Centre in Edmonton. She said highs today and Saturday will be -15C and -20C, but look for temperatures Sunday and Monday of up to -10C.

December was the warmest since record keeping started in 1942.

Warmer temperatures and a lack of snow are causing trouble for many who depend on seasonal temperatures.

Ken Pearman, a member of the Slave Lake Snowmobile Association, said thin ice is a major concern.

"Problems for snowmobilers include high traffic areas like Martin Lake, the Yellowknife River, Jackfish Lake, and places in Parker Park," he said.

"There's barely enough snow for good riding and it's a real problem for new people in Yellowknife, because they aren't aware of the trouble spots."

The coldest temperature on record for Yellowknife was -51.2C in January 1947. The warmest temperature in January was just over plus-3C in 1985.