Late-week warmth to surge into B.C. as ridge dominates West Coast
We could only escape the warmth for so long.
A pattern change arriving on the West Coast will force a ridge to build over British Columbia through the upcoming week, bringing a long stretch of very dry and unseasonably warm weather across the region.
It’s not out of the question that someone in the province will notch Canada’s first 30-degree temperature of the year by this time next weekend.
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B.C. went into April with most of the province enduring abnormally dry or full-on drought conditions. The next update of the drought monitor, which is expected in a couple of days, will likely reflect that the deficit continues for many communities.
A stretch of gloomy weather at the end of April brought some welcome precipitation to B.C. as rounds of low-elevation rain and alpine snow moved through the region. Every little bit helps before the heart of wildfire season arrives.
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That late-April rain will be a distant memory soon as an upper-level ridge makes itself at home over the West Coast through this upcoming week.
Air warms up and dries out as it sinks beneath a strong upper-level ridge, forcing communities stuck beneath the pattern to endure an extended period of below-normal precipitation and above-seasonal temperatures.
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Temperatures will gradually rise each day this week as the ridge establishes itself over B.C. We could see some of Canada’s hottest temperatures so far this year by the time next weekend rolls around.
If the pattern plays out as expected, one of the province’s usual hot-spots in the Interior may notch the country’s first 30-degree reading during this spell of above-seasonal warmth.
The only bright side to this pattern is that the warmest temperatures will likely miss northern B.C., which has been hardest hit by the ongoing drought conditions.
Stay tuned to The Weather Network for your latest forecast across British Columbia.