It’s only the middle of May, but the coming conditions will feel much closer to the middle of July.
Environment Canada’s latest forecast calls for a continued extended period of clear skies and hot temperatures in Metro Vancouver – right through the Victoria Day long weekend – due to a strong high-pressure system over BC.
For Monday, temperatures will reach a high of 23°C near the water in areas such as Vancouver and Richmond and a high of up to 29°C further inland in places such as Coquitlam. In the Fraser Valley and Squamish, temperatures will reach or exceed 30°C.
It will be slightly cooler during the middle of the week, but sunny conditions will prevail.
Towards the end of the week and into the long weekend, temperatures will climb up a few degrees to 23°C by the water and the high 20s further inland.
Long-term forecasts indicate similar warm and sunny conditions will continue beyond the long weekend into early next week.
While the weather will be perfect for the beach and other outdoor recreational activities, the unseasonably warm conditions will likely greatly accelerate the melt of the mountain snowpack. This results in a higher than usual spring freshet, which causes issues on streams, rivers, and lakes.
Parts of the BC Interior have been suffering from floods this past week due to the unusually warm temperatures accelerating snow melt.