We are not amused.
Queen Victoria herself was on the throne the last time New Westminster saw this kind of soaring mercury in June.
With a “heat dome” settling over British Columbia, even the usually temperate Lower Mainland is bracing for some record-smashing heat this weekend, and New Westminster is no exception. (What's a heat dome, you ask? Check out this excellent explanation from the Weather Network.)
The Weather Network is currently calling for New West’s temperature to hit 30 C (and feel like 36) by Friday and steadily climb after that: to 33 C (feels like 40 C) on Saturday, June 26 and to an almost unheard-of 36 C (feels like an even-more-unheard-of 43 C) on Sunday, June 27 Expect that to drop a degree by Monday, when highs are predicted to be 35 C (feels like 42 C).
For some perspective, we went delving into the Weather Network’s daily records on a quest to find out: When was the last time New Westminster saw temperatures like these at this time of year?
The answer? Never.
The closest we could come to the same back-to-back days of sweltering highs was in 1895, when June 27 reached 32.8 C and June 28 hit 31.7 C.
And, as far as daily highs go, the highest we could find in June – any time, ever – was 33.3, a temperature that was recorded on both June 25, 1925 and June 26, 1896.
For curiosity’s sake, we also checked out July – discovering a daily high of 34.9 on July 29, 2009 and 34 on July 30 that same year.
Meaning that if you think the temperatures you’re seeing in the weekend forecast are impossible, ridiculous, ludicrous, unimaginable, unthinkable, unbelievable or otherwise inconceivable?
You’re not wrong.
But look on the bright side. At least it won’t be raining.
I mean, on June 14, 1942 they had 49 mm of rain. And on June 29, 1992 we got almost as soggy, with 47.6 mm.
Remember that when you’re fighting off your child for a dip in the kiddie pool because of course you don’t have an air conditioner because this is the Lower Mainland and we don’t need air conditioners here and no way are you going to a beach because you can’t even imagine what the parking lots are going to look like and your local outdoor pool isn’t opening this summer because COVID and a bunch of other reasons and your family in Ontario is mocking you because they say these temperatures aren’t even hot but you’ve lived in B.C. for 27 years and so you’re just melting.
Or maybe that’s just me.
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, jmaclellan@newwestrecord.ca.
