At 5 p.m. Monday, the temperature in Port Alberni reached 35 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest day of the year so far.
That was still 3.5 C below the record of 38.5 degrees set in 2009.
The normal high for Port Alberniat this time of year is 26 C.
Other communities including Gold River, Nanaimo, Lake Cowichan and Duncan also surpassed the 30 C Monday.
Beaches across Vancouver Island saw many people trying to beat the heat.
“Just going to enjoy the sun, hopefully not burn with all my gingerness, that’s my goal,” said Zoey Bartha who was at Goose Spit in Comox.
“Just taking advantage of the time off and we just got lucky with really nice weather. It’s perfect,” added Nick Olson.
A special weather statement issued by Environment Canada advising of the heat for most of the Islandwas dropped Monday afternoon as slightly cooler weather makes its way into the area for Tuesday.
Dean Stoltz
