SUMMER may have officially started this week, but unofficially, the Lower Mainland will likely have to wait a couple of weeks for barbecue weather to kick in.
"In Vancouver, the first day of summer should be the first week of July," said Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
That's usually when the high pressure that sits off California finally moves north - bringing balmier temperatures.
Before that happens, though, expect a somewhat sodden week leading into some brightening for the Canada Day weekend.
Angst over when - or if - summer will arrive in Vancouver is an annual event around this time of year.
Forecasters are generally loath to predict more than a few days forward. But so far, the good news is climate models are "hinting at a slightly warmer than normal summer," said MacDonald.
So far, the weather in both May and June has been relatively good, he said.
The first 10 days of May brought the highest temperatures so far this year, with a number of records broken. In West Vancouver, the mercury shot up to 27.8 degrees on May 5, the first Sunday of the month.
"It kind of gave us a first taste of summer," said MacDonald
Spring as a whole - April to June in meteorological terms - has been about half a degree warmer than normal on average, he said. Highs in West Vancouver last weekend hovered around 23 degrees. There's also been less rain.
That's good news for everyone who suffered through June last year in Vancouver, which prompted a region-wide case of SADS with significantly lower temperatures, more rain and fewer hours of sunshine than usual. The start of summer 2011 was also nothing to write home about, when sunglasses weren't required until well into the second half of July.
Astronomically speaking, summer began with the solstice, which happened just after 10 p.m. on Thursday night, Pacific Daylight Time, marking the longest day of the year.
By Friday, daylight was already beginning its six-month-long retreat - but only by one or two seconds a day.
For those with an interest in astronomical events, this weekend will also bring with it the largest full moon of the year - dubbed a "supermoon" by some - as the full moon on June 23 coincides with the moon's closest encounter with Earth for 2013.
The full supermoon this weekend will bring with it some very high and very low tides, known as spring tides, in coastal areas.
Tides at Point Atkinson in West Vancouver are predicted to recede to a low of .2 feet (.05 metres) just after noon Sunday and reach a high of 15.5 feet (4.37 metres) around 7: 30 p.m. that evening.
