Last month was the warmest April since record keeping began at the Castlegar airport in 1965.
According to the Southeast Fire Centre, the mean monthly temperature was 12.2 degrees — 3.4 degrees warmer than the normal 8.8. The previous record was April 1980 with a mean temperature of 10.8 degrees.
An upper ridge of high pressure over southern BC resulted in mainly sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures during the first few days of April, forecasters Ron Lakeman and Jesse Ellis wrote.
Record daily highs were set on the 1st, 3rd, 18th, 19th, and 20th. The warmest temperature of the month (27.5 degrees) occurred on the afternoon of the 18th, which fell short of the all-time record for the month of 28.2 set on April 27, 1980.
A few Pacific systems produced showers, the most significant on the 4th and during the night of the 23rd. Rain was recorded on 10 days, four fewer than average during April. Overall precipitation was 32.1 mm, compared to the typical 59.3 mm.
