Heat wave continues: 17 temperature records broken across B.C.

As the unseasonably warm weather continues to grip British Columbia, 17 temperature records fell across the province on Saturday, as meteorologists had predicted.

“It is unusual. The size of it, not really. I think the main thing is that it’s happening so early in the season. The setup, from a meteorological point of view, is what we generally see mid-summer,” said Elise Legarth, a PhD student with UBC’s Weather Forecast Research Team. 

Squamish hit 32.4 C, surpassing the previous record of 29.6 set in 2018, while White Rock's 30.7 C was well above the 27.8 C set in 1959. In Pitt Meadows, a recorded temperature of 31.5 C narrowly beat the 31.1 C set way back in 1912. Most records were in the high 20s to low 30s and narrowly breaking old benchmarks.

"For May, this is unusual, we don't typically have so many records broken in May," said Louis Kohanyi, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Lytton was the hottest spot in Canada on Saturday at 34.1 C, but it was not record-breaking heat for May 13th.

A special weather statement has been in effect since Wednesday afternoon, but a heat warning has not been issued largely because of the low overnight temperatures that can cool homes significantly. Abbotsford, for example, hit a daytime high of 31.6 C but dropped to 13.3 C overnight. 

Nonetheless, health officials are urging the public, particularly those susceptible to heat, to be cautious since our bodies haven't had time to gradually get used to 30-degree temperatures after a cool, wet spring.

Air quality in Metro Vancouver is also deteriorating, with ground-level ozone levels rising.

“Conditions are causing us to be vigilant, to see if we’re going to reach advisory conditions,” said Ken Reid with the federation of municipalities.

Currently, officials say health risks remain low, as smoke from wildfires is not yet impacting the west coast’s air quality.

“It’s really, continue with your regular activities,” Reid said.

With a La Nina system shifting to El Nino, weather experts are seeing this record-breaking heat so early in the year as a potential sign of a hot summer ahead.

“It definitely raises questions on what’s going to happen later in the season,” Legarth said.

Monday is set to be hot again before temperatures drop slightly, but ECCC’s special weather statement says warmer than average weather will continue. 

The full list of temperature records broken, according to ECCC, follows below:

Agassiz

New record of 31.6 C

Old record of 31.3 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1889

Comox

New record of 26.9 C

Old record of 26.6 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1914

Courtenay

New record of 26.9 C

Old record of 26.6 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1914

Dawson Creek

New record of 28.4 C

Old record of 28.3 C set in 1926

Records in this area have been kept since 1926

Fort Nelson

New record of 28.1 C

Old record of 25.6 C set in 1973

Records in this area have been kept since 1937

Fort St. John

New record of 27.1 C

Old record of 26.7 C set in 1934

Records in this area have been kept since 1910

Gibsons Area

New record of 29.3 C

Old record of 28.1 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1949

Mackenzie Area

New record of 27.4 C

Old record of 25.6 C set in 1973

Records in this area have been kept since 1971

Pitt Meadows

New record of 31.5 C

Old record of 31.1 C set in 1912

Records in this area have been kept since 1874

Powell River

New record of 26.4 C

Old record of 26.0 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1924

Revelstoke

New record of 30.3 C

Old record of 30.0 C set in 1949

Records in this area have been kept since 1898

Sechelt

New record of 29.3 C

Old record of 28.1 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1956

Squamish

New record of 32.4 C

Old record of 29.6 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1960

Victoria

New record of 28.2 C

Old record of 26.8 C set in 2016

Records in this area have been kept since 1914

West Vancouver

New record of 29.7 C

Old record of 29.3 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1976

Whistler

New record of 29.2 C

Old record of 29.0 C set in 2018

Records in this area have been kept since 1950

White Rock

New record of 30.7 C

Old record of 27.8 C set in 1959

Records in this area have been kept since 1929

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kaija Jussinoja