North Shore breaks two temperature records

The North Shore broke two temperature records this week during a mini heat wave in the final days of August.

Temperatures shot above previous records on both Tuesday, Aug. 30 and Wednesday, Aug. 31, hitting highs of 31 C both days.

The previous high temperature record for Aug. 30 measured at the West Vancouver weather station was 28.6 C in 2003.

Wednesday’s temperature tied a previous record set in 1987.

The heat wave in the final week of August follows another hot spell earlier in the month, when West Vancouver hit 31.2 C on Aug. 17 – just shy of the 31.7-degree record set in 2012.

“We’ve seen a larger span of heat waves this summer,” said Ken Dosanjh, meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Following a wet June, the summer has been a warm one, with seven days in July hitting temperatures above 30 C on the North Shore. The hottest day this summer was July 26 when the West Vancouver weather station registered a high of 34 C.

But so far, temperatures haven’t reached anywhere near the criteria for an “extreme heat emergency” like the 2021 heat dome.

Temperatures are expected to cool a few degrees after Friday to usual seasonal highs of between 20 and 22 C next week, said Dosanjh. Temperatures in September are expected to remain slightly above normal.