Yesterday's warm weather in Southwestern Saskatchewan has helped establish five new heat records.

Temperatures in Swift Current, Cypress Hills, Lucky Lake, Maple Creek, and Assiniboia all beat their previous December 6 all-time marks.

Swift Current peaked at 12.8 C around 3 p.m. edging past its 1939 record of 12.2 C. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has records for the city dating back to 1885.

"It's a significant record to be broken," Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Terri Lang said. "It's one of the older records and stations that we have."

Maple Creek was the warmest in the southwest reaching 16.4 C beating its 1939 mark of 15 C. Assiniboia reached 12.9 C, Cypress Hills hit 11.6 C, and Lucky Lake came in at 8 C.

The very mild December temperatures can be attributed to an air mass moving across western Canada from the Pacific Ocean.

"It came from subtropical origins so around Hawaii," she said. "It bashes into the mountains in British Columbia, rings out all its moisture, and then when it gets to the Rockies it comes down the Rockies and warms up. It comes in warmer than when it came onshore in British Columbia. In southwestern Saskatchewan, we do get some extra warming from the higher elevations of the Cypress Hills."

The extra localized warming from Saskatchewan's highest elevation adds about a degree or two of warmth according to Lang. 

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, Swift Current Online encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the Swift Current Online app.