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After days of rain, it looks like a sizzling start to summer for Metro Vancouver.
Thursday marks the first day of summer, with the summer solstice — or the longest day of the year — occurring shortly before 2 p.m. PT. According to the Weather Network it’s the earliest summer solstice in 228 years.
The forecast calls for a balmy 27 C inland, with humidity levels of 30 C. Closer to the water it will likely be 22 C. On Friday, those inland temperatures should climb to 28 C, and 23 C near the ocean.
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After that the mercury will likely dip back down to the low to mid-20s for the weekend, with some cooler weather returning on Monday, and even a slight chance of showers.
While this week will be warmer than normal for this time of year, meteorologists say the region will escape the dangerously hot weather facing Central Canada, where a heat dome is pushing temperatures into the high 30s, with humidity levels in the mid 40s.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued several warnings of high temperatures this week. In Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, daytime highs could hit 35 C, with the humidity making it feel like it’s above 40 C. The agency’s summer forecast, released earlier this month, predicted a warmer-than-usual season across the country.
Ken Dosanjh, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the average temperature for Vancouver is around 20 C for the start of summer.
“We have a ridge of high pressure just kind of creeping over the South Coast and most of the B.C. coastline as we speak. So we are looking at elevated temperatures that will be above normal,” he said, adding the toasty weather will likely peak on Friday.
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Looking ahead to next week, Dosanjh doesn’t expect any strong temperature anomalies leading to a heat wave.
“You could see temperatures kind of bump up a little bit, but there’s no threatening temperature variability.”
He said Metro Vancouver’s temperature spike this week will be very small compared with what’s happening in Central Canada.
“They’re really going to start to see some high temperatures, like in southern Ontario where they are looking at 30 to 35 C. But the big thing there is the humidex values … of 40 to 45 C which is very unseasonal for this time of year,” said Dosanjh.
Climate scientists say global warming, mainly driven by burning fossil fuels, has increased the severity and frequency of heat waves across the world.
With files from The Canadian Press
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