It’s about to get hot on Vancouver Island once again.
According to Environment Canada, Central and Southern Vancouver Island is expected to experience another heat wave, with temperatures climbing above 30 degrees on Thursday and Friday.
“There are going to be near-record temperatures, and it’s not just true for the daytime highs but also the overnight lows will be very high as well,” says Armel Castellan, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A high-pressure upper-level ridge is expected to move in, bringing hot and dry conditions to an already torrid situation here on the Island.
The upcoming heat wave comes follows a storm that hit the Campbell River and Comox Valley areas over the weekend.
“I’ve never seen anything like that on the Island,” says one tourist who was stuck in the storm. “It came on so quickly and so strong and so much water and just the saturation level, the ground couldn’t absorb anything it’s been so dry,” they added.
A storm came and went quickly, flooding streets and ripping trees out of the ground.
“Thirteen millimeters at Campbell River, Comox and Powell River doesn’t sound like a lot but when it falls in a very short amount of minutes, or an hour or two, it can overwhelm storm sewers, which is exactly what happened,” says Castellan.
Environment Canada says you can expect these kinds of storms over any given summer, with a large amount of rain over a very short period of time.
However, with no rain in the forecast and changing winds our skies could look a little different in the days ahead.
“What we could see is outflow conditions again from the interior towards the south coast, so with that comes likely, some smoke,” adds Castellan.
The heat wave also comes after temperatures sizzled and smashed records on Vancouver Island back in late June. That historic heat wave, according to the BC Coroner’s Service, was responsible for hundreds of deaths.
Environment Canada is urging people to be cautious and watch out for the more vulnerable populations over the coming weeks.
Hannah Lepine
