It’s official: Spring was warmer and much drier than normal for many B.C. communities.
This week, Environment Canada confirmed preliminary statistics sent to Global News last week that showed warmer temperatures and massive drops in precipitation levels across most communities in the province.
In Vancouver, for example, the average temperature for March, April and May was 9.8 C, up 0.1 C from the city’s normal temperature of 9.7 C.
While that was a small temperature increase, Vancouver received just 65 per cent of its normal rainfall: Only 172.9 millimetres of precipitation fell compared to the historical average of 267.4 mm.
On Vancouver Island, Nanaimo was nearly a full degree warmer this spring while receiving just 57 per cent of its normal rainfall.
WATCH BELOW (Aired June 5, 2019): Spring 2019 driest in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw recorded history
In the Okanagan, Vernon was 0.4 C warmer while Kelowna was a full degree hotter. Penticton, meanwhile, was actually cooler, with its average temperature falling nearly half a degree.
Regarding precipitation levels, all three Interior cities followed the provincial trend of less rainfall (Vernon, 47 per cent of normal; Penticton, 64 per cent of normal; Kelowna, 50 per cent of normal).
WATCH BELOW (Aired May 16, 2019): Weather & Climate: not what our grandparents knew
Below are the average temperatures for several B.C. cities, followed by their precipitation measurements.
Average temperatures for spring 2019 for March, April, May
(compared to normal monthly temperature)
- Vancouver: 9.8 C (up 0.1 C from 9.7 C)
- Victoria: 9.9 C (up 0.6 C from 9.3 C)
- Nanaimo: 10.1 C (up 0.9 from 9.2 C)
- Comox: 10.6 C (up 1.6 C from 9.2 C)
- Abbotsford: 10.9 C (up 0.9 C from 10.0 C)
- Kamloops: 9.6 C (down 0.3 C from 9.9 C)
- Vernon: 9.0 C (up 0.4 C from 8.6 C)
- Penticton: 8.9 C (down 0.4 C from 9.3 C)
- Kelowna: 9.5 C (up 1.0 C from 8.5 C)
- Cranbrook: 6.3 C (down 0.3 C from 6.6 C)
- Williams Lake: 5.4 C (up 0.5 C from 4.9 C)
- Quesnel: 5.9 C (down 0.3 C from 6.2 C)
- Prince George: 4.5 C (down 0.5 C from 5.0 C)
- Terrace: 7.9 C (up 1.5 C from 6.4 C)
- Smithers: 5.2 C (up 0.4 C from 4.8 C)
- Fort St. John: 3.7 C (up 0.7 C from 3.0 C)
- Fort Nelson: 4.0 C (up 2.3 C from 1.7 C)
Average rainfall for spring 2019 for March, April, May
(compared to normal monthly rainfall)
- Vancouver: 172.9 mm (65 per cent of 267.4 mm)
- Victoria: 93.8 mm (57 per cent of 164.4 mm)
- Nanaimo: 100.5 mm (43 per cent of 231.9 mm)
- Comox: 74 mm (34 per cent of 215.3 mm)
- Abbotsford: 240.3 mm (65 per cent of 368.2 mm)
- Kamloops: 37.3 mm (69 per cent of 54.2 mm)
- Vernon: 45 mm (47 per cent of 95.5 mm)
- Penticton: 56.8 mm (64 per cent of 88.8 mm)
- Kelowna: 43.3 mm (50 per cent of 86 mm)
- Cranbrook: 54.9 mm (58 per cent of 94.3 mm)
- Williams Lake: 84.6 mm (107 per cent of 79.2 mm)
- Quesnel: 52.6 mm (57 per cent of 92.6 mm)
- Prince George: 58.8 mm (51 per cent of 114.5 mm)
- Terrace: 121.7 mm (54 per cent of 224.5 mm)
- Smithers: 73.3 mm (88 per cent of 83.3 mm)
- Fort St. John: 34 mm (42 per cent of 81.8 mm)
- Fort Nelson: 30.2 mm (35 per cent of 85.4 mm)
Comments