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In Sochi, some days reached 20 degrees Celsius - hotter than the London Summer Olympic Games - causing yet more problems with snow coverage.
But PyeongChang 2018 appears unlikely to encounter any such problems with these Winter Olympic Games predicted to be the coldest on record.
The opening ceremony, which is due to start at 11am in the UK on Friday, 8pm local time, is expected to see temperatures fluctuate between -2 and -5 degrees Celsius, similar to what parts of Britain are currently experiencing and around the average for early February in Pyeongchang.
That level of cold would be nowhere near the coldest Winter Olympic Games - in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway, it got down to -11.
But PyeongChang 2018 is expected to challenge that when windchill is taken into account.
An opening ceremony rehearsal on Saturday saw the biting winds take temperatures down as low as -23 degrees Celsius, something even the Canadian team admitted they had never experienced before.
"The wind is the worst - you walk around the Olympic village and it is like a nightmare," said skeleton racer Kevin Boyer.
"It's funny because coming from Canada we talk about being used to the cold but this is a cold we haven't seen before."
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The US ski team have even invested in special heated jackets for the opening ceremony to stave off hypothermia.
During daylight hours, temperatures are expected to get up towards nine or 10 degrees Celsius but after the sun drops and if the wind blows, PyeongChang 2018 looks increasingly likely to break all the records.
And while the chilly conditions would appear to suit such a winter event, it could actually get too cold.
Snowstorms are a rarity in Pyeongchang and it could be “too cold to snow” - but Korean authorities have already spent more than £4million on snow guns as a contingency plan.
But even with the snow, some athletes are worried about the effect such low temperatures could have on their ability to compete.
“Snow crystals get really sharp when temperatures go to minus 20 degrees and the base burns,” Austrian alpine skier Marcel Hirscher said.
“It’s the same as lighting a fire and burning your [ski] base because the snow crystals get such sharp edges.”
Spectators are also at risk - each of the 43,000 fans expected to attend the opening ceremony will be given heating pads, a warm seat cushion and waterproof clothing in an effort to beat the freeze.
