Rain brings some relief to Metro Vancouver

The rainfall on Monday was welcome by many in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley after a long stretch of hot, dry weather in the region.

More of it was in the forecast for Tuesday, and while two days of rain doesn’t solve the drought issues the province is experiencing, it is making a difference.

“The rain yesterday, it wasn’t insignificant, that’s for sure,” CityNews Meteorologist Michael Kuss explained Tuesday.

Showers this morning. Light rain tracking through early this afternoon. That wave already reaching west side of the Island. Expect another 3-10 mm bringing much of the South Coast up to 30 mm for the 2 days. @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/pSHEfW9j5E

— Michael Kuss (@Kusswx) July 25, 2023

He says in some ways, the rain was notable, given just how dry conditions have been over the past several months.

“Widespread precipitation in many places topped 20 millimetres. We saw 23 millimetres in Abbotsford, the 18.8 millimetres at YVR — a new record shattering the old mark of just over 10 millimetres, and it was the greatest single-day precipitation we’ve had at YVR since the middle of January,” he explained.

“That’s a lot of water working down into the watershed and, certainly, topping up — at least a little bit — our reservoirs.”

The South Coast wasn’t the only region to see rain, either.

Kuss says Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and the Interior also got some precipitation, with rain “fairly widespread” through the Thompson and Cariboo regions.

He adds more rain is in the forecast, too.

Related articles: 

• Metro Vancouver water consumption still high despite conservation requests

• B.C. drought conditions worsen for much of province: officials

Only last week, the Metro Vancouver Regional District urged locals to be more water-wise, with figures released on Friday showing consumption was still to high.

The drought situation in the province has also been repeatedly raised as a concern by officials, as crews continue to battle hundreds of wildfires.

“What we’re seeing here in British Columbia is a combination of extreme weather events that are creating enormous concern for myself as minister and our government overall. One of those concerns, absolutely, is the extreme drought,” Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said over the weekend.

“A lot of the impacts of what we are forecasting will likely not be felt by communities for many weeks yet.”

Listen to CityNews 1130 for weather updates every 10 minutes after traffic on the ones. You can also follow Meteorologist Michael Kuss on Twitter for more.