There was very little of that cold November rain last month as precipitation levels in Chilliwack were 58 per cent normal.
The 100.2 millimetres (mm) of rain that fell compares to a 30-year average of 228.8 mm, according to Roger Pannett, volunteer weather observer for Environment Canada.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack’s own ‘weather man’
• READ MORE: First frost of the season arrived early in Chilliwack
It was the driest November since 1979.
Pannett said an unseasonably resilient ridge of high pressure off the west coast meant the dry conditions from late October persisted to Nov. 8. That 14-day dry spell was the longest since the 14 days of dry weather observed in October 2018.
But around mid-month, seasonable mild and wet conditions returned to the Fraser Valley. The moisture-laden system, with a sub-tropical origin, produced rain heavy at times. On Nov. 17, temperatures peaked at 16.3 C (8.3 C above normal). There were, however, no temperature or rainfall records observed.
After a three-day transient ridge of high pressure with mild sunny days and cool nights, on Nov. 24 the passage of a pair of Pacific frontal systems produced strong and gusty south-west winds, thunder and hail.
The month concluded with cold, clear and sunny conditions as an Arctic ridge of high pressure intensified over the B.C. Interior. From Nov. 27 to 29, the strong and gusty north-east winds decreased the relative humidity to a low 25 per cent. On Nov. 30, the first killing frost of the season occurred as temperatures dipped to the minimum for the month at -2.2 C (3.4 C below normal) plus wind chill.
The driest November on record was a low total of 50.5 mm in 1952, according to Pannett.
The year-to-date precipitation total of 1,101.3 mm on 132 days is down 30.5 per cent compared to the 30-year average of 1,585.7 mm on 152 days.
@PeeJayAitchpaul.henderson@theprogress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
