Precipitation amounts varied considerably even between neighbouring communities during August.
“August was mostly sunny with above normal temperatures and only half the normal rainfall despite the occurrence of showers and a couple of thunderstorms towards the end of the month,” noted Chris Carss, who records weather data for Environment and Climate Change Canada from his Chemainus home.
“August was nice, but climate change has been bringing us increasingly unsettled weather in September for quite a few years now.”
The total precipitation for August for the Chemainus Valley of 18.7 millimetres fell well short of the normal of 36.2 mm.
On Thetis Island, Keith Rush recorded 15.1 mm of rain at his Foster Point Road residence which is just slightly below the average August on the island of 15.9 mm.
Interestingly, it was a marked difference from a year ago when there was only 1.9 mm of rain on the island in August.
Rush’s total to date for the year still shows almost 130 mm less rainfall than 2022.
Carss pointed out the first six days of August were dry with variable cloud and above normal temperatures.
“Some wet weather moved in during the 8th to 10th inclusive and temperatures fell back a bit to near-normal values. The middle part of August turned dry again with a repeat of the conditions that prevailed at the beginning of the month.
“August 25 to 30 saw a return to unsettled weather in the form of showers and a couple of thunderstorms that lasted on and off until the end of the month.”
Here is Carss’ breakdown on the August statistics:
Temperature
Mean maximum 26.0 C, normal 23.7 C.
Mean minimum 15.8 C, normal 14.2 C.
Extreme maximum 34.0 C on Aug. 14 and 16.
Extreme minimum 11.5 on Aug. 23.
Precipitation
Total days with rainfall 7, normal 8.
Accumulated rainfall 18.7 mm, normal 36.2 mm.
Other Statistics
Days mostly or partly sunny and dry 24, normal 19.
Days with mixed weather 4.
Total days mostly or partly sunny (including mixed weather days) 28.
As for September, “the transition to fall is expected to be unsettled as it has been for quite a few years now,” Carss noted. “Virtually every week this month is expected to bounce back and forth between fair weather and foul.”
That’s a stark contrast from the sunny and warm Septembers we used to get back in the 1990s, he recalled.
