Stating the obvious – this weekend was hot! Especially inland where the mercury hit the 30s and temperature records in place for many decades were threatened and smashed.
|
Location |
New Record |
Previous Record |
Records Began |
|
Campbell River |
27.5°C |
26.1°C set in 1973 |
1958 |
|
Comox |
26.6°C |
25.6°C set in 1925 |
1914 |
|
Port Alberni |
32.1°C |
31.1°C set in 1939 |
1900 |
|
Powell River |
26.1°C |
25.6°C set in 1959 |
1924 |
Data from Environment and Climate Change Canada
If you didn’t have a calendar, you’d think it was August, not May.
The strong ridge of high pressure responsible for the heat holds for another day today. It’s already hot and temperatures are nowhere near maxing out!
Consider this: normal for this time of year in Victoria is about 17°C, so conditions today are on track to be 9-10 degrees above normal. In the Alberni Valley, where seasonal average is currently 19°C, today’s forecast high of 32°C is in record territory again.
Need to beat the heat? Head to the waterfront. It should be a little cooler there.
The upper ridge shifts east a bit Tuesday allowing for cooler marine air to wash over the island from the west. The west island will likely get some drizzle Tuesday as a result. Near the Juan de Fuca strait, Tuesday could be a bit windy. Temperatures will also be a little cooler as the Pacific air moves onshore, and there may be some cloudy moments on Wednesday. But none of that lasts long.
Another upper ridge builds Thursday and Friday, so temperatures are expected to warm up again in time for the Victoria Day weekend. At this point, it looks like we won’t get any significant or measurable rain on the island for at least seven to 10 days.
