WATCH: Metro Vancouver enjoyed another gorgeous February day – feeling a lot more like April. Jennifer Palma looks at just how much above average the temperatures have been.
Call it early spring, or “Maybruary”, or just a practical joke on the rest of Canada. For many companies, Metro Vancouver’s warm weather this month means one thing: big business.
“Active, flying wasps in February. Haven’t seen that before,” says Mike Londry of WestSide Pest Control. He says they’ve been getting calls for carpet ants and wasps because of the weather.
READ MORE: Calendar says February but B.C. temperatures say April
There are two things driving the abnormally warm weather, which this month has produced average temperatures (8.9 degrees) nearly double the historical average (4.9 degrees). The first is an upper level ridge over the entire province where there is an arc in the jet stream. That arc drives all of the systems north of the province and pulls in the warmer area from the south.
The second scenario involves the Pineapple Express jet stream, with all the wet systems coming from the sub-tropics bringing the warm weather.
GALLERY: TREES AND FLOWERS IN BLOOM ACROSS THE LOWER MAINLAND
“People don’t pay attention to the calendar, they pay attention to how warm it is,” says Scott Pearce of Garden Works. He says flowers are three weeks ahead of schedule for blooming. As a result, business for this time of year is nearly double their normal amount.
“On the West Coast, we’re kind of spoiled and we just know as soon as we can be outside, we should be outside.”
WATCH: Flowers in Butchart Gardens
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