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Summer weather on the way for Cowichan next week, forecasters say

Rain accumulations in the Valley in June well above normal
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The rainfall accumulations in the Valley in June were way above normal, according to Environment Canada. (File photo)

Summer weather seems to have almost abandoned the Cowichan Valley so far this season.

But Environment Canada is forecasting that by the middle of next week, drier and warmer weather that is typical for the region at this time of year will finally settle in.

In the meantime, Armel Castellan, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the next few days will be much of the same as we’ve been experiencing for weeks.

“There’s a cooler system from the Pacific Ocean that is currently influencing our weather that’s usually up over the central and northern parts of the province at this time of year,” he said.

“The forecast for the Cowichan Valley is for showers on Thursday, and clouds through the weekend with temperatures not likely to hit 20 C. But by the middle of next week, drier weather is forecast to set in with above-normal temperatures. It’s expected that for the rest of July, August and September, the weather will remain dry, with temperatures above normal.”

Castellan said many people feel that June’s temperatures were well below normal, but that’s not the case.

He said although there are usually some exceptions, the temperatures in June in this region typically hover just below 20 C, but what was unusual for June this year was the high amount of rainfall.

“The average for the area is about 37 millimetres of rain in June, but North Cowichan had about 67 millimetres and Chemainus had 84 millimetres in June, which is usually the third driest month of the year after July and August,” Castellan said.

Despite the cloudy, rainy weather that we’ve been experiencing for weeks, Castellan said the grey skies had a silver lining.

“The fire season has been slow to start this year, which has left us with good air quality so far this summer,” he said.

“No droughts have shown their ugly heads so far this season either, but that will likely change as the weather turns warmer and drier.”



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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