106-year-old temperature record broken in B.C. as little drought relief in sight

As much of B.C. struggles with severe drought, communities all over the province – from Fort Nelson in the northeast corner to the Fraser Valley and Victoria in the southwest – saw their hottest Oct. 13 on record Thursday.

In Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, where temperature records extend back to 1900, Thursday's high of 25.7 C smashed the previous record of 22.8 set 106 years ago in 1916.

The city has seen more than a dozen small wildfires over the last few weeks, as tinder-dry conditions added fuel to human-caused blazes. 

Elsewhere, in the B.C. Interior, Nelson tied its 100-year-old record high of 21.1 on Thursday, equalling the temperature seen there on Oct. 13, 1922.

In Metro Vancouver, where residents have been advised to take shorter showers and conserve drinking water because of the lack of rain, the community of Pitt Meadows set a new record with a high of 24 C Thursday. The previous record of 22.8 was set back in 1961. 

An alphabetical list of the temperature records set or tied Thursday, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada, follows.

• Agassiz area – new record of 24.3, old record of 23.5 set in 1982
• Comox area – new record of 20.6, old record of 19.4 set in 2004
• Courtenay area – new record of 20.6, old record of 19.4 set in 2004
• Dease Lake area – new record of 17.4, old record of 15 set in 1986
• Fort Nelson area – new record of 23.6, old record of 23.3 set in 1945
• Gibsons area – new record of 22.2, old record of 19.4 set in 1961
• Hope area – new record of 24, old record of 22.8 set in 1961
• Mackenzie area – new record of 20.8, old record of 18.2 set in 1982
• Malahat area – new record of 23.3, old record of 18.2 set in 2004
• Nelson area – tied record of 21.1 set in 1922
• Pemberton area – new record of 23.2, old record of 20.8 set in 2006
• Pitt Meadows area – new record of 24, old record of 22.8 set in 1961
• Port Alberni area – new record of 25.7, old record of 22.8 set in 1916
• Powell River area – new record of 19.8, old record of 19.4 set in 1952
• Puntzi Mountain area – tied record of 23.6 set in 2004
• Sechelt area – new record of 22.2, old record of 17.9 set in 2014
• Squamish area – new record of 26.5, old record of 21.6 set in 1982
• Tatlayoko Lake area – new record of 24.1, old record of 23.5 set in 2004
• Victoria area – new record of 21.6, old record of 20.6 set in 1945
• Victoria Harbour area – new record of 21.9, old record of 20.0 set in 1945
• Whistler area – new record of 21.4, old record of 19.5 set in 1982

Environment Canada's temperature records are "derived from a selection of historical stations in each geographic area that were active during the period of record," and are considered preliminary, though it's rare for them to be revised when final data is confirmed.

After a brief spell of cooler weather during which no new high temperature records were set in B.C., Thursday's records resumed a pattern seen earlier in the month. Nine of the first 10 days of October saw record highs set somewhere in B.C.

This, after August and September were each among the warmest and driest on record in Metro Vancouver. 

In the short term, little relief is in sight. Environment Canada's seven-day forecasts for both Vancouver and Victoria show sunny skies, temperatures in the high teens and low 20s, and no significant rainfall expected between now and Thursday, Oct. 20.