Wednesday’s heat smashed a 50-year Yellowknife record

Wednesday afternoon’s heat in Yellowknife beat a record set in 1965.

The temperature as measured at Yellowknife Airport reached 24.6°C in the early afternoon, becoming the hottest May 23 on record in the city.

Thursday came nowhere near as close, puttering to around 15°C by the afternoon.

The record daily high for May in Yellowknife was set way back in 1948, when the city’s instruments recorded a temperature of 26.1°C.

The record low for May? Minus 22.8°C, set on May 1, 1959. (And don’t get too complacent now we’re closer to June. The record low for June is -4.4°C, on June 3, 1967.)

Records HERE! Get yer Records HERE! @Edmonton smashes a records dating back to 1961, while YELLOWKNIFE, NWT busted a record set back in '65! It's not over yet by a long shot…I'm on right no on @weathernetwork with all the "facts and data". pic.twitter.com/AQazOty47Q

— Chris Mei (@MeiDayTWN) May 24, 2018

Meanwhile, the Northwest Territories has recorded its first forest fire of the 2018 season.

A small one-hectare fire was reported just inside the territory’s south-western border, around six kilometres from Yukon on the western bank of the Liard River. It’s not clear what caused the fire.

More: Interactive wildfire map of Canada

Fire danger is listed as extreme in the Yellowknife and Fort Smith areas, very high in Fort Providence, and moderate in Hay River.