Weather has made news headlines on Vancouver Island almost every other week this year.

From broken temperature records to dry spells; mild monthly averages to intense downpours; snow and cold snaps to wicked wind storms; we’ve had it all! It’s not easy to narrow down these impactful weather events to a short list, but I’ve given it a try. Here’s my top 5 island weather stories of 2016.

5. See ya, El Nino. Hello La Nina!

In the spring, we were given the heads up that winter 2016-2017 could be a nasty one.

Scientists at the Climate Prediction Center and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society released their forecasts in May warning that the El Nino pattern we were enjoying (warmer and drier than average conditions) was starting to change, and sea surface temperatures had started to cool. Ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific were forecast to return to normal in the following several weeks, signalling the end of El Nino and a transition to something called “ENSO-neutral”. That’s the period between El Nino and La Nina when atmospheric and oceanic conditions are “normal”.

ENSO Neutral lasted until the end of Northern Hemisphere summer, and as predicted by climate models, seas surface temperatures cooled to levels considered below average. And so began La Nina!

La Nina does different things to different parts of the world. Here on Vancouver Island it typically brings cooler temperatures and more precipitation. In past years, La Nina patterns developing in the winter time have translated to amazing snowfall in the mountains; great news for ski resorts!

Trends pointed to a cooler than average winter on Vancouver Island with higher than average amounts of precipitation; rain or snow. So far, the large scale predictions have been on track, especially in the last few weeks of autumn.

4. Alberni Valley Flooding

Intense rains in November caused the Somass River to burst its banks, flooding part of the Tseshaht First Nation west of Port Alberni. A state of emergency was issued and nearly a dozen families had to evacuate. The Tseshaht school was closed, people were told to boil their water before drinking it, and neighbours and emergency preparedness coordinators launched a sandbagging effort to save several homes threatened by the flood waters.

Swollen waterways washed out Highway 4, closing the highway in both directions, cutting off the only route to Tofino and Ucluelet.

The heavy rains came as a series of moisture-laden Pacific storms, three in total, drenched the island. In some areas more than 100mm of rain fell during each storm flooding the already saturated ground.

Port Alberni flooding

3. Storm? What storm? Songda underwhelmed many areas

October 15th – Southern Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Puget Sound area braced for what was supposed to be a memorable, perhaps historic storm.

The storm began as Typhoon Songda in the west Pacific, east of Japan. It managed to track eastward, and threatened to bring extreme winds and very heavy rain to the south coast of B.C.

Winds were forecast to top 100km/h over land, 120km/h over water. To put this in perspective, 120km/h winds is hurricane force. The winds were certainly strong, but the dire forecast didn’t really pan out, leaving meteorologists all over the Pacific Northwest are scratching their heads trying to figure out how a forecast for a major windstorm set to blanket the South Coast of B.C. could end up being so underwhelming in so many areas.

Did the storm track just a little too far west? Was the centre of the low actually two lows that the computer models didn’t pick up until it was upon us? This is a lesson to all of us in the world of atmospheric sciences.

Looking back at the wind speeds, recorded and reported by Environment Canada, there were pockets throughout the South Coast of B.C. where the predictions for 100km/h winds late Saturday held true:

  • Race Rocks 100km/h
  • Trial Island 96 km/h
  • Howe Sound - Pam Rocks 111km/h
  • Sisters Island 109 km/h
  • Ballenas Island 107 km/h

Heavy rain associated with the storm did soak the south coast. But the storm which was supposed to have widespread implications didn’t deliver. On the bright side, everyone was prepared!

2. April heat smashes a 119-year-old record in Victoria

Summertime temperatures invaded the south coast of B.C. April 18th, 2016 smashing 49 temperature records across the province. Here are some of the island records broken April 18th, 2016, as reported by Environment Canada. Temperatures are in °C

Campbell River area

  • New record of 20.6
  • Old record of 19.4 set in 1983

Estevan Point area

  • New record of 16.3
  • Old record of 15.6 set in 1934

Malahat area

  • New record of 24.5
  • Old record of 21.6 set in 2008

Nanaimo area

  • New record of 25.1
  • Old record of 21.7 set in 1934

Tofino area

  • New record of 19.3
  • Old record of 18.9 set in 1939

Victoria area

  • New record of 24.3
  • Old record of 19.4 set in 1934

Victoria Harbour area

  • New record of 20.0
  • Old record of 17.8 set in 1897

Most impressive on this list is the smashed record at Victoria Harbour. It’s a record that stood for 119 years.

1. Winter came early

Bitterly cold temperatures and snow gripped the island nearly 3 weeks before the official start of winter.

It all began December 4. Arctic air moved in over the south coast of BC sending the mercury plummeting; in some areas like Campbell River low temperature records were smashed by more than 5 degrees.

Between December 4 and December 18, the island experienced wintry precipitation and days on end of sub zero temperatures. Snow fell several times during that period, much to the delight of children! Schools were closed on more than one occasion due to the snow and city crews worked around the clock to ensure roads were safe to travel, even when the snow froze creating icy conditions.

After a few days of the cold, many people said they were sick of “winter," even though winter had yet to officially start (Winter started December 21st)!