False spring? Century-old temperature records broken by mild weather in B.C.

A man wearing a cowboy hat is silhouetted, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

It was warm enough in parts of B.C. at the start of the week that weather records fell in 11 communities, including some that were more than a century old.

Feb. 7 was a warm day in 1918 in Salmon Arm and Nelson, according to Environment Canada's archives. But it was not as warm as Feb. 7, 2022.

Both areas saw warm weather records fall Monday when highs reached 12.9 C and 9.6 C, respectively. The previous record in both areas was 9.4.

So-called false spring was also felt elsewhere in B.C. In Lillooet, the record set in 1941 of 13.9 C was tied on Monday.

A nearly-70-year-old record in Summerland was set when the mercury rose to 11.7, beating out the old record of 10.6.

In Vernon, it was warm enough at 12 on Monday to knock down a record set back in 1960, when the temperature was 8.3.

The Mackenzie area saw a high of 7, up from the old record of 6.5 in 1971, and records set in the 1990s in Penticton, Sechelt and Naksup were all broken Monday with highs of 13.5, 12.8 and 8.5.

The most recent records to fall had been set in 2015 in Cache Creek and Lytton. On Monday, those areas registered high of 13.5 and 14.2, up from 13.2 and 12 on Feb. 7 seven years ago.

While those sick of winter may be enjoying the taste of spring, can the same be expected for the rest of the month? A meteorologist with the Weather Network likened the weather in February to a roller-coaster, but did say that above-seasonal temperatures are possible.