Fall forecast for Vancouver Island warmer and wetter than normal

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WatchAs we say goodbye to summer, the fall forecast is calling for wetter and warmer than normal conditions. Tess van Straaten takes a look.

Walking along Victoria’s Dallas Road, people were making the most of the last day of summer — not quite ready for it to be over.

“Oh it was glorious, I think it was the best summer of my life!” said Laura Klein, as she walked her dog Monday. “It was hot and dry and made me feel better than good.”

“It’s been really really hot and wonderful, except for the last few smoky days,” added Pat Denny.

Before the smoky skies kept conditions cool, temperatures averaged about two degrees above normal in Victoria for July, August and September.

And three weeks in, the Victoria area only had 7.7 millimetres of rain this month — normal is 31.1 mm.

July and August were also dry and the on-going summer droughts are taking a toll on trees. But that’s all about to change.

“We do expect a wetter fall, several storms coming in from the Pacific, storm track it looks like is going to be directed right through British Columbia so above normal rainfall for September and October,” explains Accuweather meteorologist Brett Anderson.

The fall forecast Accuweather is putting out isn’t just showing wetter than normal conditions.

Temperatures are also expected to be above seasonal for Vancouver Island and a small section of the BC Coast.

“Water temperatures are still warm in the Pacific so with storms coming in off the Pacific that will keep temperatures probably warmer than they normally are,” Anderson says.

But at this point, the predictions for November — normally the wettest month of the year — are up in the air.

“We don’t have a strong signal for November either way on the climate models however, we do know from the climate prediction centre in the United States they’re forecasting a moderate La Niña to influence the weather for the winter,” says meteorologist Carmen Hartt of Environment & Climate Change Canada.

And that could mean even more rain for winter as well.

Tess van StraatenTess van Straaten

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