Victoria weather station saw driest July in nearly 120 years
The Victoria Gonzales weather station in Victoria had zero milimetres of rain all month
The heat wave that gripped the province has subsided, leaving behind records for both heat and dryness.
Armel Castellan, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says it was quite exceptional to have the hot and dry weather last so long.
"July 9 was the last we saw of a cold front that kind of swept through the province … and ever since then the taps ran totally dry," Castellan said.
In fact, one weather station in Victoria — Victoria Gonzales station located in Fairfield neighbourhood — saw zero millimetres of rain the entire month of July.
"It's the driest July on record since 1899," Castellan said. "For a better part of two-thirds of the month, we saw no precipitation for most of the province."
Slight cool-down, but more heat to come
Castellan says that many stations across the province saw record-breaking dryness with the exception of one outlier.
"Except for Fort St. John which unfortunately had 130 per cent of normal," he said.
But he says the province can expect more active weather over the next couple of weeks.
"It looks like maybe the first 10 days of August are going to be not cooler than normal but actually just normal."
That works out to being about 20-23 degrees for places like Victoria. Castellan says there is potential for another heatwave in late August, but it won't be as severe.
"We could see it be warmer than normal, even 10 degrees warmer than normal, but by that time it will feel not quite as intense."