August brought the heat this year.
With an average temperature of 20.3 C it was almost two-and-half degrees above the average August says Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist.
At the same time it was an abnormally dry month, with only 7 mm of rain falling over the month. Normally the city gets 37 mm, meaning less than 20 per cent of the month's normal precipitation fell in Raincouver.
Nearby, Abbotsford had its hottest month ever in August and one of the hottest summers of all time, as well.
"The closest to Vancouver that had a summer rank in the top five was Abbotsford; it had its fourth hottest summer," says Lundquist. "The east part of the city would have been like that."
Vancouver was more than a degree warmer on average throughout the summer months (June, July, and August). Lundquist explains that the fact it was 1.1 C warmer over three months is significant.
"The longer the period, the more a degree means," he says. "If it's one day it means nothing, if it's a month it starts means something."
While some considered June this year to be more of a June-uary, Lundquist says the month was close to average and the summer rains that fell during that month helped keep the whole summer more in line with normal.
