110-year-old weather record broken in B.C. Saturday

Although temperatures have cooled down in much of B.C. following a stretch of record-setting warm March weather, a small number of communities still broke daily maximum records on Saturday.

Three locations experienced their warmest March 23 on record, according to preliminary data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, all in the province’s northwest.

In Terrace, a record that had stood since 1914—two years after record-keeping in that area began—fell. It got to 14.7 C in the city on Saturday, surpassing its 110-year-old high of 13.9 C.

The highest record-breaking temperature was in Bella Bella, where the mercury rose to 17.2 C, surpassing its old 2004 record of 14 C by a wide margin. And in Sandspit in Haida Gwaii, it reached 11.2 C, just a touch warmer than its previous record of 11 C set in 1979.

The weather agency says its temperature records have been “derived from a selection of historical stations in each geographic area that were active during the period of record,” and notes that its list could contain unofficial information and doesn’t constitute a final report.

Last week, more than 70 heat records fell in communities across B.C. during a several-day stretch when a “ridge of high pressure” brought warm air and sunny skies to the province.