In what will likely be the start of a trend this week, four areas across British Columbia set a daily heat record on Wednesday while a fifth tied its record.
Three of the five communities were in northern B.C., one was along the Sunshine Coast and the last was on Vancouver Island. Three of those areas eclipsed 30 C.
This week, Environment Canada is forecasting temperatures in the low- to mid-30s for the Interior, with the Lower Mainland expecting temperatures in the mid-20s but up to 30 C inland.
The national weather agency also has heat warnings in place for the Fraser Canyon, the Central Coast, the North Coast and Fort Nelson.
A special weather statement is in effect for Watson Lake due to the heat.
The following areas set or tied a daily maximum temperature record on July 5:
Burns Lake
- New record: 29.7 C
- Old record: 29.6 C, set in 2006
Comox
- New record: 30.3 C
- Old record: 30.0 C, set in 1922
Fort Nelson
- New record: 31.7 C
- Old record: 29.4 C, set in 1998
Fort St. John
- Tied record of 27.2 C set in 1961
Sechelt
- New record: 31.5 C
- Old record: 31.4 C, set in 2015
Notably, the nation’s hot spot on Wednesday was Lytton at 36.3 C. But the Fraser Valley community fell short of breaking its daily heat record, which was listed at 36.7 C set in 2017.
More information about hourly weather conditions in B.C. is available online.