| Weather in British Columbia |
| As a result of Kuroshio Current (also known as the Japan Current), which crosses the North Pacific Ocean, coastal British Columbia has a mild, rainy oceanic climate. Due to the blocking presence of successive mountain ranges, the Interior of the province has a semi-arid climate with certain locations receiving less than 250mm (10") in annual precipitation. The annual mean temperature in the most populated areas of the province are above 10 °C (50 °F), the mildest anywhere in Canada. Winters can be severe in the Interior and the North. For example, the average overnight low in Prince George (roughly located in the middle of the province) in January is −14 °C (7 °F). The coldest temperature in British Columbia was recorded in Smith River, where it dropped to −58.9 °C (−74 °F), one of the coldest readings recorded anywhere in North America. Southern Interior valleys have shorter winters with brief bouts of cold. Heavy snowfall occurs in the Coast, Columbia and Rocky Mountains providing healthy bases for skiers. On the Coast, rainfall, sometimes relentless heavy rain, dominates in winter because of consistent barrages of cyclonic low-pressure systems from the North Pacific, but on occasion (and not every winter) heavy snowfalls and below freezing temperatures arrive when modified arctic air reaches coastal areas for typically short periods. On the opposite extreme, summers in the Southern Interior valleys are hot, for example in Osoyoos the July Maximum averages 32 °C (90 °F), hot weather sometimes moves towards the Coast or to the far North. Temperatures have gone over 40 °C (104 °F) in the past, with the record high being held in Lytton, when the temperature rose to 44.4 °C (111.9 °F) on July 16, 1941. | |
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| The extended summer dryness often creates conditions that spark forest fires, from dry-lightning or man-made causes. Coastal areas are generally milder and dry during summer, under the influence of stable anti-cyclonic high pressure much of the time. Many areas of the province are often covered by a blanket of heavy cloud and low fog during winter, despite sunny summers. Annual sunshine hours vary from 2200 near Cranbrook and Victoria to less than 1300 sun hours per year in Prince Rupert, located on the North Coast, just south of the Alaska Panhandle. |
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
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