If you can’t remember the last time it rained, you’re probably not alone — we’ve had almost no April showers.
With sunny skies and temperatures in the teens, Vancouver Island is seeing some of the best spring weather in the country.
“I think the weather is a blessing for all of us,” says Fran Grunberg, as she walked along the Songhess Monday morning. “And even though we’re socially isolated, when you look outside it makes you smile.”
Following a parched March, Victoria’s had just 4.8 mm of rain this month — and none at all in the last 10 days.
“March was a very dry month province-wide, but particularly for Vancouver Island,” explains Environment & Climate Change Canada meteorologist Lisa Erven. “Many communities saw their 6th, 7th, 8th driest March on record.”
Greater Victoria usually gets about 78 mm of rain in March.
This year, it was just 28 mm — only 36 per cent of normal.
Nanaimo was even drier, receiving only 21 mm of precipitation when it’s typically around 113 mm.
And that’s sparking concerns about an earlier-than-usual drought.
Port Alberni had its first wildfire of the season Saturday — one of 11 province-wide over the Easter weekend as conditions dry out.
The fire danger rating for much of the Island is now moderate…and with high pressure dominating, there’s no rain in sight.
“We’ve got this persistent ridge pattern continuing to hamper precipitation on the west coast so that means we’re going to get through the first two-thirds of April being very, very dry for the Island,” Erven says.
But the stormy start to year with the second wettest January on record means the Island’s snowpack is still at about 80 to 89 per cent of normal.
And with more dry days ahead, experts say it should help buffer the impact of the dry conditions.
Tess van Straaten
