Metro Vancouver is having a record breaking weekend.
Sunny skies and warm temperatures are helping folks celebrate St. Patrick's Day in mid-March as Vancouver and the much of British Columbia is experiencing a mini-heat wave.
Environment Canada recorded nearly 40 locations on March 16 that either tied or broke previous single-day high temperatures, including a few around the Lower Mainland, though the City of Vancouver fell just shy (the high was 16 C while the record was 17.1 C set in 1983).
White Rock, though, peaked at 19.5 C, breaking the old record of 19 C. And West Vancouver had an even bigger gap, hitting 18.7 C, smashing the old record of 15.5 C. In both cases, as with Vancouver, the old records are from 1983.
In Pitt Meadows, a 77-year-old record was broken, as a summer-like high of 22.7 C was recorded, while Abbotsford was similar, but just 0.1 C cooler. And Hope hit 23. 4 C, also breaking a record set in 1947.
Whistler, with skiers still on the hills, saw a high of 16.3 C in the village, breaking it's old record of 14 C by more than two degrees. Records also fell in Squamish, Sechelt, Kelowna, Victoria and Prince George.
The hottest part of March 17 hasn't occurred as of the time of publishing, but seeing as it's 12.8 C and the record is 14.4 C, Environment Canada meteorologist Nan Lu thinks it may be the hottest St. Patrick's Day in Vancouver on record, once records are recorded.
"Across the Metro Vancouver we'll probably see a few more records broken," she tells V.I.A.
The forecast
The warm early spring will last a few more days, Lu adds.
"We will see the same warm air and sunny conditions through Tuesday," she says.
Highs through Tuesday should remain in the mid-teens for Vancouver, while lows will only drop to 5 C to 7 C overnight.
However, things are predicted to change Wednesday, March 20.
"Temperatures return to seasonal norms with a day time high of 10 C Wednesday," says Lu. "We're expecting periods of cloudiness and chance of showers."
That's due to a low pressure system coming from the southwest, out over the Pacific. At the same time, some cooler air is coming west from the Interior.
"It's a pretty weak system," says Lu. "But it's a return to normal season temperatures starting Wednesday."
From Wednesday on, daily highs will be between 9 C and 10 C, with overnight lows around 4 C.
