Today is the coldest November day on record in Whitehorse.

Bill Miller, with Environment Canada's local weather office, said the mercury dropped to -41 C this morning, making it the coldest November temperature ever recorded.

'This is the coldest November day on record,' he said in an interview this morning.

The previous record, Miller said, was Nov. 27, 1948, when the temperature was -40.6 C.

Temperatures began being recorded in the Yukon in 1942.

The reason for the cold snap, Miller said, is a high-pressure system settling in the territory which is centred in Ross River. That community has seen temperatures in the -50s.

The cold has been affecting residents across the city this morning.

Ryan Weibe of Fireweed Heating and Plumbing said his company is having difficulties keeping up with the volume of calls coming in.

'Today, this has been a really busy place. The phone literally hasn't stopped ringing since 7:30 a.m.

'I couldn't even tell you how many calls we've had,' Weibe said.

The main complaints, he said, have been failing furnaces and frozen pipes.

James MacDonald, Whitehorse Taxi's dispatcher, said cab drivers have also seen an huge increase in business.

'I haven't been able to catch up since I came in this morning.'

Given the volume of calls, he said, people looking for a taxi could bank on waiting about 30 minutes.

Amy Funk, with Superior Towing, said her company's phone has also been ringing off the hook.

'Our business has gone up big-time,' she said.

'Boosting vehicles, and trying to get vehicles into shops to thaw out is most of what we've been doing; people's cars are just frozen.

'I'd say on days like this, our business more than doubles.'

Val Pike, the spokeswoman for Whitehorse General Hospital, said emergency room numbers have actually dropped with the cold weather.

'Our numbers here are half what they usually are,' she said.

'We usually get about 90 to 100 people in a 24-hour period. Yesterday, I counted half that 49 people.'

George White, the city's maintenance manager, said most municipal vehicles are not going out today due to the cold weather.

'We don't send out anything on days like today that we don't have to,' White said.

'The steel in this weather breaks too easily.'

White said city graders are being held back, with sanding trucks and the bus fleet being some of the only vehicles being sent out.

Miller said this month has been one of the coldest Novembers since temperatures began being recorded, with the average temperature this month coming in at -19.3 C.

The coldest, he added, was November 1973, when the average was -19.9 C.

Miller said Yukoners could start expecting temperatures to start climbing to single digits by the end of the week.

'Things are starting to change,' he said explaining that warmer air from the Gulf of Alaska would be bringing temperatures in the city up to -7 C or -5 C by Thursday or Friday.

'It's going to start warming up as the week progresses,' he said.

'It looks like for the next couple of weeks, we're not going into the deep freeze.'