B.C. shivers through chillier-than-usual April

If you think April in British Columbia has been chillier than usual, you’re right.

The month has been much colder than average across the province, and particularly in the neighbouring Yukon.

With a few days left to go in the month, preliminary numbers show a couple of areas across the province, such as Cranbrook, could be in record-breaking territory.

Many regions look likely to rank in the top five to 10 coldest Aprils on record.

Statistics from Vancouver show the city is not in record-breaking territory.

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However, Vancouver could still finish end the month a good 1.5 degrees below average, which is significant. The average for the month of April is 9.4 C, and April 2022 looks on track to wrap with an average of 7.8 C.

Spring months like April often come with large swings in temperature where several days of 17 C to 20 C are not out of the question.

These warmer periods can bump up the average temperature significantly. However, this year B.C. has been consistently cooler than average, with only a couple of warmer days and none above 16 C.

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Rain and snow accumulations for Vancouver are almost bang on average for the month of April. However, the number of days with rainfall far surpasses the average.

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Typically, the city would have about 14.8 days with rain in the month of April, but this year has recorded 21. So while the temperatures have been cooler, the conditions have been a bit gloomier.

In addition, the South Coast has also seen an above-average number of thunderstorms.

While many people may prefer to see warmer spring conditions, too much heat too early can cause problems. When it comes to the freshet season, when mountain snow melts and runs off into rivers, a cold early spring followed by a sudden warm-up is a recipe for disaster.

Early indications are that no sudden warming is expected. In fact, it looks like conditions could remain below average right into the early part of May.