Last Sunday’s record-breaking high of 24 °C set the trend, and temperatures continue to be hotter than usual in Chilliwack.
“March came in like a soggy lion and went out like a roasted lamb,” wrote Roger Pannett, Chilliwack’s Volunteer Weather Observer for Environment Canada, in a release.
After the Pineapple Express record rainfall at the end of February and beginning of March, Chilliwack warmed up. The March mean temperature of 8°C is more than a point above the 30-year average. It was another wet month, though, with total rainfall 122 per cent above normal.
Snowfall levels dropped dramatically. Chilliwack received only 4 cm in March, compared with the 30-year average of 14 cm.
“Thankfully, during the last nine days of the month, a dramatic improvement in weather conditions occurred as a building ridge of high pressure produced mostly warm, sunny days,” wrote Pannett.
The month concluded with a hot sun and record highs.
“With mean temperatures an abnormal 1.67 ̊C above normal, the January to March period has been the mildest since the 2010 Olympic year,” wrote Pannett.
The last frost was on March 24, with a low minimum of -3°C, which Pannett hopes is the final of the season.
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