It was hot, but not record-breaking hot.
Sunny skies and warm temperatures made for a bright Canada Day on Vancouver Island, but didn’t push the mercury into all-time-high territory, said Environment Canada meteorologist John McIntyre.
The closest was in Campbell River, which hit a high of 29C on Monday, one degree shy of the record, said McIntyre.
“Eight or 10 records fell [in B.C.], but none of them were on the Island,” he said.
“It wasn’t really the Island’s day. Maybe next weekend. There’s going to be a lot of heat on the Island then.”
In Victoria, the high at the airport was 28.4C, but the record was 33.9C in 1942, said McIntyre.
It was hot in Port Alberni — almost 32C — but not even close to the record of 38.9C, also set in 1942. Nanaimo topped 28C, but fell short of a record 32.2C.
British Columbia has been toasted by a large high-pressure system over the American midwest region, which has spawned record hot temperatures in the U.S. and pushed north, said McIntyre.
But that changes as early as today, when a cooler sea breeze is set to pick up off the Pacific and replace the U.S. flow, he said.
It will still be a sunny and warm week, but with more seasonal temperatures in the low-to-mid-20s, said McIntyre.
The U.S. heat wave could return by next weekend, though, when temperatures are forecast to rise again to 28C in Victoria.
“That’s a week away yet, we’ll have to watch that one,” said McIntyre. “But it looks like another big high will push in. It will be a heck of a summer it looks like.”
— Times Colonist
