Victoria hit 25.4 degrees Celsius Thursday, one of seven temperature records broken on Vancouver Island for May 9.
Fifty days into spring and it feels very much like summer on Vancouver Island, and more temperature records appear set to fall Friday.
There were seven new highs set on the Island Thursday, with Campbell River, Nanaimo, Port Alberni and Duncan all reaching 27 degrees Celsius.
The heat record was turned up to 25 in Victoria and Tofino, and the Malahat hit a new mark at nearly 24 degrees.
Environment Canada says a strong ridge of high pressure over the BC coast is responsible for the unseasonable heat, which took records two or three degrees above previous highs.
The weather service forecasts a high of 31 degrees in Port Alberni, five degrees higher than the May 10 record set in 2016 in the community.
Nanaimo and Campbell River are projected to reach 26 degrees Friday which would be a record in both cities and about 10 degrees above their average highs for the day.
The mercury hit a new record of 29.5 in Squamish, while a 141-year-old record toppled in Pitt Meadows as the Vancouver suburb reached 28, edging the old mark of 27.8 set in 1878.
Environment Canada’s long-range forecasts show conditions are expected to cool a bit more seasonable showers could reach the south coast by next week.
Moisture in May and June protects B.C.’s woodlands during the dry summer months, but concern is growing because snowpacks are below average, spring rains have been scant and the wildfire danger is already moderate to high in many areas.
With files from the Canadian Press.
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