Almost every year, the Yukon sets records for the weather. The territory has the greatest range of annual temperatures in North America, and the highest air pressure in Canada. But last year the Yukon also broke one of its own weather records.

Based on 51 years worth of weather information, 1998 was the driest year ever recorded in the territory. According to Environment Canada, annual precipitation was 34 percent below normal in 1998. Compare that to 1951, the second driest year, when precipitation totals were about 25 percent below normal. Seasonally, 1998 had the second driest summer on record, the third driest spring, the fourth driest fall, and the third driest winter.

Last year was also the seventh warmest year on record, but during the summer, thick clouds of smoke often obscured the cloudless skies. The warm dry weather meant there were more big forest fires blazing around the Yukon. 386,000 hectares of forest were burned, compared to a normal total of 154,000 hectares. The increase in the number of fires was not as dramatic, with 196 compared to a normal average of 162.

In 1998, the annual average temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than normal. 1981 holds the record as the warmest year, with an average temperature 2.8°C warmer than normal.

Looking at the seasons, the Yukon experienced the ninth warmest winter on record at 4.6°C warmer than normal; spring was the seventh warmest at 2.5°C above normal; and summer was ranked sixth at 0.9°C above normal. Fall was -0.2° cooler than normal, pushing it down to twenty-third warmest on record.

So what does this all mean in terms of patterns? It remains to be seen whether 1998 was a product of the El Nino effect, or global warming, or a combination of the two. But one thing is for sure; extreme weather can always be expected in the Yukon.

The Yukon holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in North America. On February 3, 1947, a temperature of -63 degrees Celsius was recorded at Snag, Yukon, a defunct airstrip located east of Beaver Creek. The Yukon also holds the Canadian record for the highest atmospheric pressure. On February 2, 1989, the air pressure was measured at 107.96 kPa (kilopascals) in Dawson City.

These all-time records are not anomalies. On any given year, people living in the central Yukon can experience the greatest range of annual temperatures of any place in North America. Mayo is the place to live if you enjoy extreme high and low temperatures.

Mayo set the record for the Yukon's extreme high on June 14, 1969, when the thermometer topped out at 36.1 degrees Celsius. The extreme low for that community, -62.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded on the same day in 1947 that the record low was recorded in Snag.

For the record, some people in Mayo hotly contest Snag's claim to fame, saying that Mayo had a lower temperature on that same day. But Mayo never had a chance to confirm this reading because the weather office there burned down a few days later.

With a difference of 98.3 degrees Celsius between the extreme high and low temperatures, Mayo holds the Canadian record for the greatest range of absolute temperatures. For the Yukon as a whole, the difference between the average temperature of the warmest and coldest months is usually around 40 degrees Celsius.

Overall our winters are mild compared to those in the eastern Arctic. So why does the temperature tend to plummet here when it does get cold, falling lower than anywhere else in North America? Mountains play a bigger role in influencing the weather here than any other single factor.

The Coast Mountains block warm, moist Pacific air from moving into the territory. Cold, dry Arctic air then dominates, pooling in the valley floors where most communities are located. During the long cold -- and usually clear -- northern nights, more heat is lost through radiation.

Herb Wahl, a retired meteorologist who has written a book on the Yukon's climate, has a suggestion for people who want a break from the winter cold. Follow the lead of animals like moose and sheep and climb a ridge.

In most mountainous areas, temperatures drop as you go up in elevation. But in the Yukon a shallow temperature inversion is present almost continuously from late October to early March and on occasion in the summer.

Wahl says the warmer air aloft creates these inversions. "You can have a -50° temperature on a valley floor, and if you go up 1500-2000 feet, you could find temperatures as high as -15 or even 0 degrees," he says.

You can call the Yukon weather office at 668-6061 for recorded information on Yukon weather. On-line information is available at www.weatheroffice.com.