Did you go to school in Edmonton in 1890 or something? I grew up near Edmonton too and while January/Feb can certainly cross the -30 mark from time to time (and barely), -40 is unheard of. Maybe with windchill, like once or twice a year.
For the week of January 7th, the highest temperate was -28C. Lowest was -37C.
The prior week had a high of -25C.
Go back another year to 1997 and the temperature for the week of January 19th was a high of -30C and a low of -41C. I remember it fondly. The temperature never got above -30C for almost 10 days.
