Local News
Early season heat breaks records in a dozen B.C. communities
One-day temperature records fell over the weekend as much of B.C. baked under unseasonably hot sunshine.
“Sunday was the peak of the heat with a dozen new temperature records set around the province, including Pitt Meadows at 32.3 degrees and Lytton at over 39 degrees,” said 1130 NewsRadio Meteorologist Michael Kuss.
“Pitt Meadows set a record high for June 8 that stood for over 120 years, and it remains way above average through Monday. We will get cooling by the end of the week, but that is still a couple of days out,” he explained.
Abbotsford set a new record for June 8 at 31 degrees. The old record was 30 degrees, observed in 1955. Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton also broke daily records, along with Kamloops, Penticton, and Princeton.
“There is an end in sight to this heat with gradual cooling through Wednesday. Cloud cover fills in by the end of the week, and there’s even a chance of showers to wrap up the work week,” added Kuss.
The early-season heat is adding to the fire risk in B.C.
As of Monday morning, 18 new wildfires had started over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of active fires in the province to 83.
The BC Wildfire Service says the largest is the Pocket Knife Creek blaze in the province’s northeast, which has grown to 610 square kilometres after merging with another fire.
A news conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Monday to update the province’s emergency preparedness as well as wildfire and drought predictions for the summer ahead.
