If the beginning of the week felt unusually hot in the Comox Valley, that’s because the thermometer nearly reached a record-breaking high for the beginning of June.
Temperatures at the Comox weather station on June 1 reached 29.1 C - just 0.3 C shy of the hottest temperature on record for the area on that day. In both 1924 and 1961, the highs reached a record-setting 29.4 C, said Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Lisa Erven.
Despite the warm weather, Erven explained June is a “rollercoaster type of month” in terms of temperatures and precipitation, living up to its ‘June-uary’ nickname.
“We can really get all sorts of weather heading into early summer. Throughout most of B.C., a lot of places got a taste of summer.”
She noted while the ridge of high pressure was picked up on models a few days in advance, the weather in June can have drastic swings. While the mid-week will stay in warmer temperatures, from June 3 throughout the weekend to at least June 7, Erven said residents can expect a shift into cooler weather with showers, with a daytime high reaching 22 C on Thursday, June 3.
“We’re about to hit a major shift, so get out there today and enjoy the vitamin D, but do so with your layers of protection and make sure to stay hydrated.”
In the next few months, the province will enter a dry season, and while precipitation measurements for the month are difficult to predict, Erven noted a cooler shift is expected at least until the middle of next week.
“Shower days are not so great for beach days, but help for drought conditions and forest fires. Spring was really dry, particularly in the southern part of the province - it hit the top five driest springs on record.”
In the Comox Valley, the area reached 76.8 per cent of its normal precipitation for the month of May. In comparison, Nanaimo only reached 40 percent while Campbell River reached 50 percent.
photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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