Wet weekend weather brought Victoria's largest rainfall since February
It happened, it finally happened. Significant moisture hit the West Coast and brought some much-needed relief to a very dehydrated province over the weekend.
An atmospheric river began to develop early last week so we could see that we were in for a highly anticipated dump of moisture. By Thursday evening, the rain arrived and on Friday the sky opened up and gave several areas a copious amount of water.
We all knew we were struggling with drought. After a dry spring and even drier summer the situation was getting dire, and while the weekend storm doesn’t solve all the issues it was very welcomed and gets many areas back on track for moisture levels.
The average annual rainfall for Greater Victoria ranges from around 650 mm to 885 mm. This year, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 20, the airport has recorded 359.5 mm. On Friday, the airport received 28.3 mm, the largest rainfall since February.
At the airport in Vancouver, 50.9 mm fell on Friday, making it the wettest Sept. 17 since 1937, smashing the old record of 19.1 mm.
The big winner in the rainfall race was Squamish with 116.6 mm, followed by Port Mellon with 114.8 mm. It took other areas all weekend to get to triple digits. On Vancouver Island, North Courtenay led the way with 110.3 mm from Friday to the end of the day Sunday.
While Friday was the heaviest rain day, the system slowed down its delivery of water on Saturday and Sunday but plenty of scattered showers and rain pockets rolled in late Sunday.
After the lack of rain and the amount of heat we had over the summer, the ground is so dry that trees can easily be toppled when a storm like this rolls through. Some areas also saw localized flooding with high rain amounts falling in a short time. We also have to keep these things in mind with weather systems such as this.
As we move forward into fall and winter, our attention will be focused on the potential for how a weak La Niña ride will play out. I’m not a fan of doing seasonal forecasts as the transition from summer to fall is very unstable and it’s hard to lock down but if things play out the way it stands today, we’ll likely see slightly above-average temperatures right through the end of the year with higher than average moisture. The best approach with this is to take the forecast one week at a time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.