November rainfall totals double monthly average in some regions of Vancouver Island
The West Coast storm season has begun, and it did so with a bang – or rather, a wet wallop.
Dolly Parton once said, "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." Well, Dolly, we put up with a lot of rain and we’ll take all the rainbows we can get here in B.C.
November took a turn in the middle of the month when a monster storm dropped too much moisture on British Columbia, leading to flooding, mudslides, washed away roads and drowned farms.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, a significant atmospheric river brought copious amounts of rain to southern B.C. The storm broke 20 one-day rainfall records across the province.
From Saturday, Nov. 13, to Monday, Nov. 15, five spots in British Columbia received over 200 millimetres of rain, with Hope being the leader at an astounding 252 millimetres.
In terms of monthly records, only Abbotsford broke its November precipitation record. Abbotsford got 540.7 millimetres of precipitation this past November. Its long-term average is 248.2 millimetres for the month, and the previous record was 421.8 millimetres set in 2006.
By now, everyone in the province knows the damage that was done and the lives that were impacted negatively. After that huge event we watched as a series of three more atmospheric rivers were lined up in the Pacific, all waiting to take their turn to dump even more water on B.C.
In a more typical year, the West Coast will see eight to 10 atmospheric rivers. This year, we saw four in the back half of November alone.
The series of storms led to large rainfall totals for the month.
(CTV News)
While many people weren’t familiar with the term "atmospheric river," or AR, before this year, it’s not new. It’s been used since the 1990's when more research and attention started being given to the weather phenomenon.
ARs are fed by the tropics with moisture and warm air that moves into the northwest Pacific Ocean, which is also pumping moisture into the atmosphere.
Everything collides and turns into a river in the sky and when that river makes landfall, the rain falls.
An atmospheric river is full of moister and warm air, and we’ve really seen that with the last AR that arrived in B.C., as we’ve set daily record-high temperatures a couple of times this week.
The temperatures peaked on Dec. 1 when Penticton tied an all-time record in Canada hitting 22.5 C on the first day of the month. The previous record was set in Hamilton, Ontario back in 1982.
Even on Vancouver Island, the Malahat area broke a record, just barely, on Wednesday with a temperature of 10.5 C. The old record was 10.0 degrees set in 1988.
(CTV News)
While it’s nice to have a balmy day to start off December, it’s also a problem as that warm air can melt already fallen snow in high elevations, and that runoff can contribute to more mudslides, flooding and overflowing rivers and streams.
With barely any breaks in between these systems, our ground is at capacity for taking in water. B.C. is over-saturated and even though we’ll see more typical weather and rain for the next while, every rain day will be concerning.
Even a little rain could potentially cause issues in those areas already hit so hard. Waters will recede and we will continue to help each other rebuild our lives, but it won’t be a very relaxing winter as we’ll have to pay close attention to what’s coming our way next.
If only we’d get the rainbows without the rain for the rest of the season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.