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Environment Canada talks ‘abnormally average’ July, weekend temperature shift

No records have been broken thus far, but these past few days have been the hottest of the year, with temperatures lingering in the mid 30s. This weekend, however, sees a big change with a dramatic dip in temperatures more than likely accompanied by a substantial amount of rain and thunderstorms.
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A storm’s a brewin’. John Kisser file photo

No records have been broken thus far, but these past few days have been the hottest of the year, with temperatures lingering in the mid 30s. This weekend, however, sees a big change with a dramatic dip in temperatures more than likely accompanied by a substantial amount of rain and thunderstorms.

READ MORE: Severe thunderstorm watch for East Kootenay

“For the weekend it is a big change,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist in an interview with the Townsman on Thursday, Aug. 8. “We have an upper low moving in from off the coast and it’s going to set off some showers and thunderstorms. So the biggest change will come on Saturday with those thunderstorms and showers continuing into Sunday.”

Temperatures will see a stark drop off from the mid 30s down into the high teens for Saturday and Sunday, but Lundquist said that next week the weather will level out and return to more seasonal temperatures in the mid 20s, accompanied by sun with intermittent cloud and perhaps some chances of showers, but certainly not the scorching heat we had at the end of this week.

Looking back at the month of July much of interior B.C. experienced “abnormally average” weather.

For Cranbrook, you were the only place in B.C. of the main centres that I looked at that was more than one degree above or below average,” Lundquist said.

Cranbrook was around 1.5 degrees below-average temperatures for the month of July, seeing an overall average of 17.3 below the average of 18.7. It was also a little wetter, with the city receiving 50 millimetres of rain, about 30 per cent higher than the average of 38.

“You get the dubious distinction of being the only place in B.C. that was more than one degrees below average,” Lundquist said.

This was undoubtedly a helpful factor in reducing the threat of rampant wildfires, with much of the southeast corner of the province being a little colder and wetter.

“Most of B.C. interior has had [colder, wetter weather] for the most part with the exception of your location,” Lundquist said. “It was an abnormally normal month, that means it’s really unusual for us to land near-average temperature and near-average precipitation and there were some exceptions of course, but overall it was very, very average for a month. That gave us the breather we needed compared the last few years that were hot and dry.”

As of Friday morning, Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the East Kootenay, with conditions favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may produce heavy rain and possibly hail.