Balmy B.C. weather continued Sunday, setting dozens of temperature records across the province just a couple of days before spring’s official arrival.
Environment Canada said a ridge of high pressure brought warm temperatures to B.C. this weekend, and well above-normal conditions are forecast to continue this week.
Sunday, like Saturday, saw 38 records fall, and, depending on the location, some fell by a fairly wide margin while others were 100 or more years old.
Fifteen cities saw the mercury rise about 20 C, and the warmest among the record-breaking cities was Merritt, where the daytime high temperature reached 23.2 C, surpassing a record of 19.4, set in 1972.
Hot on its heels was Quesnel, which set a new record of 22.8, surpassing the record of 17.2 set in 1902.
Pitt Meadows and Princeton reached a high 0f 22.5 C, breaking previous records of 19.5 C and 20.6 C, respectively.
Squamish set a new record when the mercury reached 22.2 C, breaking the record of 21.3 C set in 2019. In Pemberton, a new record of 20.9 C was set Sunday, breaking the 18.1 C record set in 2019.
Ski enthusiasts were met with unusually warm weather at Whistler, where the mercury rose to 18.9 C, breaking a record of 14.4 C set in 2019
In Vancouver, it was 15.1 C, breaking a record of 14.4 C set in 1900.
In West Vancouver, it was even warmer and the mercury reached 18.9 C, surpassing the record of 17.8 set in 1995.
The Fraser Valley was nearly balmy this weekend with Abbotsford setting a record of 21.5 C, breaking past the record of 20.6 C set in 1947.
In Kelowna, a 100-year-old record was broken when the temperature reached 18.9 C Sunday, breaking the previous record of 16.1 C set on the same day in 1914. Staying in the Okanagan, Summerland saw a daytime high of 17.5 C, breaking a record of 16.1 C set in 1972.
Vernon also saw a century-old record toppled Sunday when the mercury reached 19.3 C, breaking the record of 18. 3 set in 1914.
While the warm weather is record-breaking, it won’t be that way for much longer.
Spring officially begins at 8:06 p.m. Tuesday and with it comes a chance of showers as temperatures struggle to get into the low teens.
Temperature records above 20 C
Blue River set a record of 20.2 C, surpassing the previous record of 14.2 C by a significant margin. The previous record was set in 2019
Cache Creek saw a record of 21 C set, breaking a previous record of 20.6 C set in 1947
Clearwater set a new record of 20.6 C, breaking an old record of 18.3 set in 1915
In Trail, a new record of 20.8 C was set, breaking a record of 18.3 C set in 1947.
In Dawson Creek, a new record of 20.9 C was set , breaking an old record of 12. 8 C set in 1930.
In Port Alberni, a new record of 20.9 C was set, breaking a record of 18.9 C set in 1930
In Prince George, a new record of 20.2 C was set, breaking the 1941 record of 13.3 C.
More records across B.C.
In the Richmond area, the new record for March 17 is 14.6 C. The previous record was 14.4 C and that was set in 1900.
In Sechelt, a new record of 18.8 C was set, breaking a record of 16.2 C set in 2019.
Similarly, in Gibsons, a new record of 18.8 C was set breaking the previous record of 16.2 C, set in 2019.
Burns Lake saw the temperature reach 15.9 C, breaking 12.8 C set in 1957.
Clinton set a new record of 17.2 C, breaking a record of 12.9 C set in 2007.
Fort St. John saw a new record of 19.7 C set Sunday, breaking a more-than-a-century-old record of 12.8 C.
Mackenzie saw a record of 17.1 C set Sunday, breaking a 2019 record of 11.5 C .
In Malahat, a new record of 18.2 C was set, breaking a previous record of 14.7 C set in 2019.
In Nakusp, it was 13.6 C, breaking a record of 13.1 C set in 2019.
In Nelson, a new record of 18.6 C was set, breaking an old record of 16.7 C set in 1947.
Powell River saw the mercury rise to 19.4 C Sunday, breaking a record of 16.7 C set in 1972.
The Puntzi Mountain area set a new record of 18 C breaking an old record of 12.1 C set in 2007.
Smithers set a new record of 16 C, breaking an old record of 11.7 C set in 1947.
In Sparwood, a record of 16.9 C was set, breaking a record of 13.3 C set in 1972.
In Williams Lake a new record of 19.5 C was set, breaking a record 14.9 C set in 2007.
The Tatloyoko Lake area saw mercury rise to 18.4 C, breaking a record of 17.2 C set in 1947
Yoho National Park saw a new record of 12.5 C breaking a record of 12.2 C set in 1947