After stretching to record breaking levels at the start of the week, the mercury will likely slide again Thursday, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald.
While he couldn’t say if it broke a record, Monday’s temperature of 28 C in West Vancouver was likely the hottest ever for April 18, according to MacDonald.
Vancouver also smashed a 50-year-old record with a high of 25.3 C Monday, three degrees hotter than the previous mark set in 1962.
By the time the mini heat wave ends, more records could be broken, MacDonald said.
“We’re definitely going to flirt with it,” he predicted.
A huge ridge of high pressure that allowed hot air to sweep up the coast from California will likely weaken Wednesday, according to MacDonald. The drop will likely lead to showers and temperatures in the range of 16 C.
“Wednesday will be the last hurrah of this beautiful stretch,” MacDonald said. “This treat comes to an end.”
The high temperatures are likely not a prelude to drought this summer, in part because of a hefty snowpack on the mountains, said MacDonald.
The conditions that led to the drought of 2015 were “truly exceptional,” he added.
