Average temperatures, near-normal rainfall: What to expect this summer in Vancouver

People sit and lie in the sun at Kitsilano Beach Park on Saturday, May 9, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

While it may not feel like it in Vancouver, summer will officially begin in a matter of weeks and a newly released seasonal forecast is painting a picture of what's in store.

After last year's devastating heat and wildfires, the outlook for 2022 shows a much more typical weather pattern, according to Brett Anderson, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

"That's probably a good thing," he says. "We always like to be near normal, really. We don't want to have those extremes and we're certainly seeing more extremes – especially with climate change."

In terms of temperatures on the Lower Mainland, that means daytime highs of around 20 or 21 C and overnight lows of between 12 and 13 C in mid-summer.

"I think we're going to be looking at temperatures probably within a half-degree of normal," Anderson says.

Rainfall also is predicted to be "near normal" for the South Coast. On average, Vancouver gets about a dozen rainy days in June, six in July and eight in August.

The reason for the relatively balmy and wet weather is two-fold, according to Anderson. First, a cooling La Niña pattern has persisted longer than it was intitially expected to.

"We thought it would start to weaken significantly through the spring into the summer. Right now it looks like it's going to maintain its strength into the summer,” he explains.

"That'll have an influence in keeping temperatures close to normal across much of B.C instead of the dry hot conditions that we saw dominate … last year."

Below-normal water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean will also, according to Anderson, have a cooling impact.

All of this gives him a reason to be relatively optimistic about the wildfire season, which he notes is a particular concern in the Interior.

"Everything tells me that this year should be better, certainly, in terms of the fire situation," Anderson continues.

"The fire risk across the Interior is still going to be higher than normal. But I don't see it as extreme as last year."

Air quality is also expected to be better overall due to more breezes blowing off of the ocean, he says. 

 

Still, he says investing in an air conditioner will probably pay off, even if it doesn’t get much use this season.

 

"With climate change, in general, we are warming."