Forget Juneuary, how about "June Boom"?
The skies above Metro Vancouver are a little volatile as the new week kicks off, and we could see an extra jolt in the weather thanks to thunderstorms in the forecast Monday and Tuesday.
Environment Canada is calling for cloudy conditions today (June 14) with a 60 per cent chance of showers, and a risk of thunderstorms Monday afternoon. Daytime temps should hit 18C, dropping to a low of 13C overnight.
Monday night we can expect those clouds to hang around, along with a 40 per cent chance of showers and a risk of thunderstorms continuing into the evening.
Much the same is on tap for Tuesday as it stands, with Canada's weather agency calling for mainly cloudy skies and a 40 per cent of showers.
Tuesday afternoon also holds a risk of thunderstorms.
Once the stormy conditions pass Tuesday night it looks like we are in the clear for weather that is decidedly in the clear: A string of sunny or mixed sunny and cloudy days with temps in the low 20s.
Environment Canada calls for cloudy conditions and possible showers and thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday, followed by several sunny days the week of June 14, 2021. By Environment CanadaWhy are thunderstorms so rare in Metro Vancouver?
Thunderstorms typically occur in May, June and July in the Lower Mainland. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, they form when "warm, moist air rises into cold air."
While they might occur in the winter, they are less common because there's not as much heat to make moist air rise. That said, they generally occur far less often in Vancouver than in many other places across the country.
"The water is so cold off Vancouver Island," Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist told V.I.A. last month. "Any cold water prevents the daytime heating from really kicking off and that's what gives us thunderstorms.
"It's really an inland thing."
Do Metro Vancouver's mountains prevent thunderstorms?
"No. In the interior that's where thunderstorms start because it is an elevated heat and moisture source," Lundquist explained.
While the mountains don't protect the Lower Mainland from thunderstorms, they break up other stormy weather events, such as tornadoes.
With files from Elana Shepert
