Record fall warmth sends the mercury climbing in B.C.

It is unusual to hit a temperature exceeding 20°C this late in the month at Vancouver International Airport.

In fact, 21.7°C is the warmest the station has been this late in the year and the ninth-highest October temperature on record. It’s also the warmest October temperature for the station since Oct. 1, 2010: 21.8°C.

The October 2022 heat event stands alone for its duration and maximum intensity as recorded across many stations in southern British Columbia.

• Abbotsford: 28.5°C (Oct. 15, 2022

• Campbell River: 26.5°C (Oct. 1, 2022)

• Victoria: 25.3°C (Oct. 2, 2022)

• Comox: 23°C (Oct. 1 and 7, 2022)

The unprecedented start to Oct. 22 had Port Alberni average more than 27°C during the first nine days in October, along with many other stations in the mid-20s. Wildfire smoke and poor air quality drifted as far north as Haida Gwaii during the strong, southerly flow of record-breaking air.

Warmest temperatures across British Columbia on Friday

• Pitt Meadows: 24.5°C

• West Vancouver: 24.0°C (ties 2022 daily record)

• Lytton: 23.6°C

• Abbotsford: 23.4°C

• Fort Nelson: 23.2°C

• White Rock: 22.5°C

• North Cowichan: 22.3°C

• Vancouver (YVR): 21.7°C (old daily record: 20.2°C, 2022)

An unusually strong ridge placed across the Pacific Northwest ushered in a exceptional temperature pattern across southern British Columbia.

Will it continue?

A major pattern change unfolded on Saturday with higher-elevation snowfall as cooler air filtered in from the northwest.

Long-range projections are remaining unusually dry for the southern half of the province during the next five days, although temperatures will be running closer to seasonal for most of western British Columbia.

Moisture deficits of 50-100 mm of rainfall over the next 10 days are expected, as the end of October is normally the beginning of the fall storm season for the region.