Meteorologists predict daily heat records to be broken in B.C. this weekend

People on Vancouver Island are making plans to head outdoors as a burst of hot weather is forecast to bring daily temperature heat records over the weekend.

“We’re going to be reaching near 20 degrees for parts of the island, particularly the south and interior locations,” says Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan. “(We’ll see) temperature records probably on Sunday, Monday – maybe even Saturday and Tuesday.”

Along Sidney’s waterfront, sun seekers were already getting a head start. People are strolling the boardwalk and playing at sea level by the beach.

“I feel pretty good. I can actually get out in the garden,” says Don Boston.

“It’s beautiful,” says Savannah Combs, sitting in the sand with her baby, sister and nephew. “More time outside.”

Baristas and the store manager at a bakery café and gelateria in Saanich are preparing for a busy weekend – revising the team’s approach to operations.

“We’re excited. We’ve all been waiting for the sun to come out,” says Mosi Aquacotta store manager Noah Kingsley. “(We’re) bringing on a lot more staff for the weekend and for the next couple weeks for the weather. And we’re also doubling our orders, pretty much, stocking the store as full as we can.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada says the weather system is expected to bring temperatures 6-9 degrees above seasonal values for the island. No special weather statements or advisories are anticipated.

“Our overnight lows, because we’re still ahead of the equinox, are still going to drop down to 4, 5, 6 degrees and we’ll essentially be quite normal. So we’re going to have that recovery. From a health perspective this is not a dangerous event but it is certainly keeping things dry across the province,” says Castellan.