We have a winner! See who was first to hit 30C in Canada
theweathernetwork.com
Saturday, April 28, 2018, 3:20 PM - We have a winner!
30oC has been - and remains - a distant dream for most Canadians this spring, but parts of B.C. were living the dream on Friday, as the first weather observing station hit the hallowed 30-degree mark Friday afternoon. And the strong ridge of high pressure that brought these mild temperatures into southern British Columbia means that it could be southern Alberta's turn Saturday.
The lucky winner? Drum roll, please...
Lytton, British Columbia, is your first 30-degree day champion for 2018, Canada. The weather station recorded an (unofficial) high of 31.2oC on Friday.
What's going on? How can we get 30°C in April? Something extreme must be happening, and it all stems from the upper levels of our atmosphere.
Now that you've seen the culprit (thanks, upper ridge), you'll understand how we approached some all-time April temperature records in southern B.C. on Friday. Alberta, you become the western hot spot on Saturday.
The temperatures at 850 mb (1.5 km above sea level), are at record-breaking territory...
Even for the winter-weary, this isn't all great news. Unusually warm temperatures will continue to eat away at the unusually high snowpack still in place over the mountains, increasing the threat for more flooding and loading a lot of the rivers with rapid runoff.
