Chilliwack was feeling the heat on Sunday, but no records fell.
The temperature soared to 32.5 C, said Environment Canada’s volunteer weather watcher Roger Pannett, making it the hottest May day in a decade.
But that maximum was still shy of the 32.8 mark set on May 13, 1912.
Chilliwack also fell short of the hottest place in B.C. That honour went to Pemberton, where the temperature at the airport was measured at 34C.
The extreme heat has heightened concern over rising waterways. The Fraser River, measured at Mission, was at 5.2 meters Sunday. Seven days ago it was at 3.9 meters.
And it’s not finished rising yet. The River Forecast Centre issued a high streamflow advisory for the Fraser on Thursday, saying the river could rise to 6.5 meters by week’s end.
The City of Chilliwack, which has already issued evacuation alerts for a handful of properties outside the city’s diking system, is warning residents to stay back from riverbanks and fast moving water.
That message was underlined in Squamish Sunday after an extensive search failed to locate a man who was swept away after falling into the Squamish River.
The heat in Chilliwack is expected to ease later this week. After climbing to 30 again on Monday, the temperature is expected to drop to the mid 20s for the rest of the week.
