What's in store for summer weather on Vancouver Island?
The arrival of June brings on the start of summer. So what can we expect for summer 2023? We’ll get to that in a minute.
First, let’s look back to spring, and more specifically the month of May. While it felt at times we were still stuck in winter mode, the month we just left broke that feeling in a big way.
March and April were pretty normal for the most part, although we didn’t get as much moisture as we would’ve liked. As we ended our third year with La Nina, the weather pattern held much of the big moisture to the south and gave heavy rain and bigger snow packs to California and Nevada. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we received what was left, meaning less moisture.
There were little bumps in temperature during the spring also. We had a record-setting weekend in the middle of March and we were able to determine that this year an El Nino would be building into the summer.
April was mostly typical, but as we started getting into the month of May we started seeing warmer temperatures – not just here on Vancouver Island, but across Western Canada and into parts of Ontario and Quebec.
Now that May has come and gone, we can see what it did deliver weather wise. Here on the island we had the warmest May recorded. Two weather stations in Greater Victoria – the airport and Gonzales – along with stations in Nanaimo, Comox and Campbell River were all number one for heat since they started tracking data. Our mean temperatures were 2 to 4 degrees warmer throughout much of the province and with that we saw 279 extreme daytime highs and 22 precipitation records during May.
If you look at the precipitation numbers from meteorological spring (March/April/May), we can see we are lagging behind and the farther south you go, the bigger the lag is. With lower moisture numbers, we’re already preparing for a very dry summer.
As we look ahead to summer, we have already established that it’s an El Nino year and it will get stronger the deeper as we get into the year.
We’re seeing both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans warming up at a faster pace than normal and numbers seem to be approx. 1-3 degrees warmer on average.
We're expecting a hotter than average summer throughout B.C. and rain seems to be lacking also.
That’s not saying we’re going to see weeks and weeks of temperatures in the 30s and 40s but it will be warmer and drier than usual and at a few points we’ll deal with heat waves and probable drought conditions through many areas.
It’s important we pay attention to the dry conditions as the risk of wildfires will be high this year. We’ve already been dealing with bad situations throughout the country.
Best case scenario is we get a run of sunshine and warm days followed by some moisture to keep things fresh. And just like your summer song this year, hopefully it stays on repeat. Of course, we know that weather doesn’t do what we want. It does what it wants and we just have to deal with it the best we can.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.