+40C for first time this year and 120-year record broken

Monday, June 29, 2015, 7:31 AM - The last weekend in June felt like fall in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. But out west, in British Columbia in particular, it was hot enough to bury records dating back more than 100 years.

Back-to-back blazing hot days over the weekend saw 34 records topple on Saturday June 27, with another 30 following suit on Sunday June 28.

Not only was the 40^oC barrier broken in 2015 for the first time that weekend, some communities not only had their hottest days in June, one had its hottest-ever day, period, in 114 years.

Hottest day ever

There has never been a hotter day in Cranbrook, B.C., than it was on June 28, 2015 -- at least not since records were kept.

The town made it to 36.8^oC, a smidgen higher than its old record in 1925, and the hottest day it has ever experienced, in any month, since record-keeping began in 1901 -- at a time when Canada had only seven provinces.

Though it's the only community that could make that claim, others, aside from experiencing their hottest June 28 on record, also marked their hottest-ever June days.

Though not as hot as on June 27(more on that in a minute), there were still some near-misses, with Revelstoke, Kamloops and Lillooet coming within one degree of 40.

And though some records were recent, at least one, Kamloops, went all the way back to the 1890s.

First to Forty

As blazing hot as June 28 was, June 27 was even hotter in some parts of B.C.

The communities of Osoyoos and Warfield were the first in Canada to creep past the 40^oC mark this year on June 27. Aggazis, B.C., had its hottest June 27 in 120 years, since 1895.

Some communities not only had their warmest June 27 on record, they also had their warmest-ever record for any day in June, period. The least-hot record on Saturday's list is from the Mackenzie area, at 28.4^oC.

Record high temperatures were also set in portions of Alberta Saturday. Banff was the hot spot with a new same-day record of 31.9^oC, beating out 29.8^oC in 2006.

DANGEROUS HEAT: 40^oC is not healthy. Here are five terrible things extreme heat can do to humans.

British Columbia's long range forecast includes sun and warm temperatures for the rest of the week of June 29 - July 5.

The past two months have been extremely dry in parts of British Columbia and across the Prairies, contributing to a spike in wildfires, new steps toward water rationing and rising grain prices.

Was it a heat wave?

Although the public will often use the word "heat wave" to refer to any perceived period of hot temperatures, it requires specific criteria to be met.

An actual heat wave occurs when there are three or more consecutive days when the maximum temperature reaches 32°C or more.

Even when the temperature reaches potentially dangerous levels (Related: Five horrible things extreme heat does do humans), Environment Canada's system of heat warnings doesn't cover most of B.C.

While every other province and territory in Canada has a province-wide warning threshold, usually based on temperature and/or how long that temperature will last, EC only issues explicit heat warnings in B.C. for two cities: Vancouver (When temperatures are expected to reach 29°C or more on consecutive days) and Abbotsford (where the threshold is 34^oC). The weather agency does occasionally issue special weather statements for heat when conditions warrant.

Regardless of what the official story is, though, people complaining of a heat wave in the B.C. Interior won't be guilty of exaggerating this weekend.

With files from Leeanna McLean

SOURCES: The Weather Network | Environment Canada