May is off to a scorching start, with sky-high temperatures shattering records in almost two dozen municipalities across B.C.
On Monday, the high was 27.1 C at Victoria International Airport, breaking the 25 C record set in 1945. It was cooler on Tuesday, with temperatures around 20 C, bit more hot weather is in the forecast. Highs of around 25 C and sunshine are predicted for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Greater Victoria.
At Vancouver airport, the mercury hit 24.7 C on Monday, breaking the previous record of 23.9 set in 1945. It was even hotter in downtown Vancouver’s Coal Harbour, where temperatures reached 27.2, more than five degrees higher than the previous 22.1 record set in 1998.
In the Fraser Valley, Chilliwack sizzled, with a high of 29.9 that broke the century-plus-old record of 28.3 set in 1898. Neighbouring Abbotsford and Hope reached 29.6 and 30.4, respectively, surpassing records set in the mid-1940s.
Records were also set in Whistler (25.4), Nanaimo (26.5), Squamish (29.8), Pitt Meadows (30.3), and Kamloops (30.9) and a slew of other locations, including Burns Bog in Delta, officially B.C.’s hottest spot with 31.1.
May’s early hot streak comes on the heels of the warmest April on record in Vancouver, where the average monthly temperature was 11.9, up from the 9.4 typically recorded for April.
“It was definitely a warm one across the province,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Colin Tam, reeling off other places in B.C. that saw heat records set in April, including Victoria, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Prince George, Terrace and Fort St. John.
It was also one of the driest Aprils on record for Victoria, Kelowna and Vancouver, where only 24.2 millimetres of rain fell, compared with the normal 88.5 mm.
For Als Krause of Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery in Langley, the recent weeks’ unexpectedly hot weather, which has been mixed with a light but regular sprinkling of rain, has been a boon: “Overall, we’re looking at a good season.”
He’s expecting strawberries to start hitting shelves a good three weeks earlier than normal, if not more. “Strawberries will start trickling in in a couple of weeks, with the main production happening in the last week of May,” predicted Krause. Usually, strawberry season hits its stride in June.
Environment Canada said Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to be cooler, with possible showers. The warm weather should be back by the weekend, however, with temperatures expected in the low 20s.
Many of the summertime attractions are now open. At Grouse Mountain, spokeswoman Julia Grant said the Grouse Grind is open daily from 6:15 a.m. until 7 p.m. “The conditions right now are really good,” she said. A number of the sections along the tough trail have had upgrades.
Dale Miller of the B.C. & Yukon Lifesaving Society on Monday said there have been 15 drownings across B.C. this year.
“A lot of people are not prepared for the high-running water that is very cold,” he said.
In recent weeks there have been high-water warnings in the Okanagan and Miller said other areas around B.C. will have similar warnings as the sun melts the snowpack.
Water is also on the minds of others. City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, who’s also chairman of the utilities committee for Metro Vancouver, said they’re being proactive and bringing in Stage 1 water restrictions two weeks earlier than last summer, starting in mid-May.
“We have to be prepared this summer,” said Mussatto. “We had four months without any significant rain last summer.”
Last year, Mussatto points out Metro was able to buy 69 billion litres of water from B.C. Hydro and they’re asking to purchase even more this year to help with any water crisis that may arise. He adds that the snowpack this winter is significantly more than last year.
Despite the concerns, Mussatto said people living in Greater Vancouver are beginning to understand the need to conserve water: “As a region our water consumption has been going down.”
The recent hot weather has also prompted concerns over the wildfire season. A total of 181 wildfires has been recorded since April 1.
In northeastern B.C., a 40-square-kilometre wildfire has more than doubled in size since Friday, forcing an evacuation alert for several properties.
The Siphon Creek blaze, about 60 kilometres northeast of Fort St. John, broke out in mid-April and has been burning just a few kilometres east of the Doig River First Nation.
Information officer Ryan Turcot said high temperatures caused the fire to flare over the weekend, and it was burning so vigorously Sunday that it was unsafe to send in ground crews.
An evacuation alert was also ordered Sunday for several homes in the Cecil Lake area 30 km east of Fort St. John.