Warm temperatures, rain for rest of winter: meteorologist

With yet another slew of daily heat records broken on Saturday across B.C., one meteorologist says above seasonal temperatures are here to stay.

In Vancouver, a high of 13.2 C on Saturday broke the previous record of 11.4 C set in 1997.

Gary Dickinson with Environment Canada says this streak of mild temperatures is due to an El Nino weather pattern that’s bringing warm weather up from the south and southwest.

“With the warm air, we’ve been experiencing mild temperatures much above seasonal. With record-breaking temperatures every day between Dec. 28 up until the Dec. 31,” he said.

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And it’s not just Vancouver that’s been a part of this winter warmth spell.

“Locations throughout B.C. have been experiencing mild weather from the coast, to southern interior, and even central interior records have been broken,” Dickinson added.

Looking forward as many people return to work on Tuesday, Dickinson says to expect rain, rain and more rain.

While he adds temperatures should calm down from their record-breaking streak, above seasonal is still expected to be the norm. He says Environment Canada is forecasting only a couple degrees higher than the seasonal average of six degrees for this time of year.

“For the next three months, our outlook is still above seasonal temperatures with above seasonal precipitation for the rest of the winter,” he said.

In Whistler, Dickinson says he predicts snow will fall at around the 800 to 1000 metre elevation mark this week, but on the North Shore, he expects it will still be a “mixed bag” of precipitation.

-With files from Monika Gul