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Warm weather smashes records along B.C.’s south coast, with more sun to come

Pitt Meadows broke a 140-year-old temperature record on Thursday, according to Environment Canada
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The unseasonably dry weather has brought much-welcomed heat to B.C., feeling more like summer than typical May warmth.

A strong ridge of high pressure over the B.C. coast led to multiple new daily high temperature records, according to Environment Canada.

READ MORE: Summer-like heat hits B.C. this week

Lytton, B.C. was the hottest spot in the country Thursday, with mercury reaching 30 C. That’s compared to Mannville, Alta., where temperatures dropped to -20.4 C.

Pitt Meadows broke a 141-year-old record of 27.8 C set in 1878, reaching 28 C. Environment Canada started recording records in the city in 1874.

READ MORE: Unusually dry March leads to dozens of grass fires in B.C.

READ MORE: Low B.C. snowpacks reduce flood risk, hike chance of summer droughts

Abbotsford reached 27.1 C, surpassing 26.7 C set in 1946. On Vancouver Island, Port Alberni saw record temperatures for a second day in a row.

Environment Canada forecasts the south coast to see more warm weather into early next week, with Friday being the hottest.

Meanwhile, the River Forecast Centre latest report released Thursday shows the average of all mountain snowpacks in B.C. is calculated at just 79 per cent of normal. This has led experts to forecast a minimal likelihood of flooding and unusually dry conditions in the months ahead.

Weather records broken on Thursday:

Agassiz: 27.7 C (25.6 C in 2015)

Abbotsford: 27.1 C (26.1 C in 1946)

Bella Bella: 24.3 C (22 C in 2005)

Bella Coola: 27.7 C (27.1 in 2005)

Campbell River: 27 C (24.4 C in 1968)

Cathedral Point: 24.2 C (23.9 in 2005)

Chilliwack: 27.7 C (27.5 C in 1987)

Comox Airport: 26.6 C (24.4 C in 1968)

Entrance Island: 24.3 C (22.2 C in 2006)

Estevan Point: 20.2 C (17.5 C in 1998)

Gibsons: 25.8 C (22.8 C in 1968)

Malahat: 23.8 C (22 C in 1987)

Nanaimo: 27 C (25 C in 1969)

Pitt Meadows: 28 C (27.8 C in 1878)

Port Alberni: 28.7 C (26.2 C in 2013)

Powell River: 24.9 C (24.4 C in 1949)

Sechelt: 25.8 C (22.8 C in 1975)

Sand Heads Lightstation: 21.9 C (18 C in 1997)

Saturna Capmom: 25.2 C (22.4 C in 2015)

Saturna Island: 21.9 C (20.5 C in 2004)

Sisters Islets: 22.8 C (19.2 C in 2004)

Squamish: 29.5 C (26.1 in 1986)

Terrace: 26.4 C (26.1 C set in 1975)

Tofino: 25.5 C (22.8 C in 1968)

Vancouver: 24.9 C (23.3 C in 1969)

Victoria: 25.4 C (23.3 C in 1986)

West Vancouver: 26.9 C (23.6 C in 2015)


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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