Lower Mainland in line for potentially record-breaking heat
Posted May 9, 2019 5:54 am.
Last Updated May 9, 2019 8:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The kiddie pool may get some early action.
A mini-heatwave has set in across the Lower Mainland, and there’s the potential we could set some records on Thursday and Friday.
“A seaside high of 20 with the breeze — not likely to be a record-setter, but all areas sheltered from that wind will experience a rapid warming trend [Thursday] afternoon, more so than earlier in the week,” Meteorologist Russ Lacate explains. “Records like 23.6 in West Vancouver, 23.9 in White Rock, 25.5 in Pitt Meadows, 26.7 in Abbotsford, and even 27.2 in Whistler — all in jeopardy of tumbling [Thursday] afternoon.”
Some of these records date back as far as 1940. He says temperatures could hit in the high 20s over the eastern half of Metro Vancouver and throughout the Fraser Valley.
It’s also getting hotter in other parts of the region.
“Warm air that’s been trapped beneath this summer-sized high pressure ridge all week, it begins to surface across the B.C. South Coast today, sending the mercury soaring to potentially record-setting highs,” Russ adds. “That’s from the Sunshine Coast across southern Vancouver Island, into Sea to Sky country.”
Meantime, the southern Interior could see temperatures as high as 30 degrees by Friday, according to Environment Canada.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre says snow melt caused by the warm weather will swell rivers and streams over the next seven to 10 days.
However, most snowpacks across the province are below normal, which, according to the centre, rules out anything like the disastrous floods several parts of B.C. experienced last year.
Canadian Forces members were brought in to help communities in the Boundary and Similkameen regions impacted by major flooding last May. Thousands of people were forced from their homes throughout the flooding.
Listen live for weather updates every 10 minutes after traffic on the ones. You can also follow Meteorologist Russ Lacate and Meteorologist Michael Kuss on Twitter.
-With files from The Canadian Press
