While the last weeks of summer have been dry, cooler and wetter conditions are forecast to return this autumn and winter.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says that is because cooler ocean temperatures are expected to return as the seasons change.
Meteorologist Derek Lee says September is the start of fall from a meteorological perspective. The season officially begins on Thursday, September 22 at 6:04 p.m.
The warmer than average conditions are expected to continue until the end of September, with more familiar fall and winter conditions expected to return in October and November with more rain, according to Lee.
“For the month of September, the Victoria area gets around 31 mm of precipitation. However, in October we jump already into 88 mm,” said Lee. “That’s almost double what we expect for September.”
The warmer temperatures are down to higher ocean temperatures just off the coast of Vancouver Island. Lee says as we approach November, La Niña should start to peak and we can expect cooler temperatures to return.
Lee adds the drier weather at the moment is not a significant problem because of the amount of rain the Island and Coast saw last spring.
La Niña years can last anywhere between two to seven years, according to Lee, and it’s very difficult to predict how long it will stick around.
“Every La Niña year is not the same magnitude. This year we are expecting a weak La Niña, which is kind of what happened last year,” said Lee. “La Niña will bring us cooler weather likely towards the later part of the year heading towards December.”
Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland are expected to see some rain on Friday.
