Topsy-turvy is one way to describe June weather, although a local forecaster prefers “unsettled.”
“When I look at the weather patterns for June, it was more unsettled than anything,” said Ron Lakeman, forecaster at the Southeast Fire Centre.
“Meaning the weather was changeable, sun shining at 8 a.m., rain by noon, followed by more sun.”
With a total amount of precipitation 160 per cent above normal, June proved to be one of the wettest on record for a fourth straight year.
“Of the summer months June is by the far the wettest, and usually more prone for rain than May,” he said.
During the first half of the month, a flat ridge of high pressure produced several sunny warm days, and a sporadic mix of light showers and thunderstorms.
The third week saw almost half the month’s total precipitation, 62.4 mm, during a main rain event that began on June 18 and continued to the 20th.
June 19 set a new record when 46 mm of rain fell, up from 44.2 mm, set in 1986.
Lakeman said cold lows that move in from the Pacific tend to produce significant amounts of rain, and this year, the lows tended to move slowly, producing two or three days of rain at a time.
Muggy could also be a word to describe most of June, as the mean monthly temperature was 0.5 C warmer than normal mainly due to relatively mild overnight values.
“All the way through the month, the average daytime temperature was normal,” explained Lakeman.
“But the extra cloud cover overnight due to systems which produce precipitation, meant a full degree above normal at night.”
The final few days of the month remained unsettled but a large ridge of high pressure from the south brought warmer temperatures.
“As we get through June and into the month of July, we typically see pattern changes and high pressure becomes more influential, bringing warmer temperatures.” added Lakeman.
Although the Canada Day didn’t see the predictions of all-time record shattering heat come to pass, 15 new heat records were set in communities across B.C.
At 36.7 degrees, Merritt broke the oldest record of 35 degrees, set in 1924, but other long-standing records fell in Quesnel and Prince George, where the cities reached respective highs of 36.1 and 33.5 degrees, breaking records that have stood since 1942.
Creston, Sparwood, Blue River, Clinton, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Pitt Meadows, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton and Powell River all ranged between 31.1 degrees in Powell River and 36.5 in Pemberton.
Forecasters had predicted the sub-tropical heat wave would smash Canada’s all-time high temperature of 44.4 degrees set in Lytton and Lillooet in 1941, but while Lytton reached a steamy 40.3 degrees on Monday, making it a hot spot for the country, the Fraser Canyon village didn’t break its all-time high, or even its daily record.