Repeated ridges of high pressure have been driving temperatures in B.C. up into the double digits, with daily heat records falling in at least a dozen cities from Vancouver to Cranbrook to Dawson Creek.
In Bella Bella, on B.C.’s central coast, Wednesday’s high climbed to 19.3 C, a mercury level more commonly associated with June or July, according to CBC’s climate dashboard which takes data from Environment Canada and compares it to historical records.
Anita Hall, a principal at Bella Bella Community School said she was shocked when she walked out of the door in her winter coat only to be hit by the warm air.
“I was quite surprised. It felt a bit eerie, like, what is going on here? Why is it so warm?” she asked.
Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon said the mild conditions are being driven by repeated ridges of high pressure creating stable air over British Columbia. Those systems allow warmer air that would normally stay further south to move north, keeping temperatures well above seasonal norms.
He said it’s been a repeating pattern, resulting in winter weather only lasting for a week or two in many parts of the province.
“This winter in general has been very abnormal,” he said.
But, he added, the current ridge of high pressure “isn’t hanging around too long,” with a weekend trough expected to cool things down.
That’s good news for organizers of the Prince George Iceman who are still holding out hope that their annual competition, which includes cross-country skiing and laps at the outdoor ice oval, can still go ahead.
As of Wednesday, though, the oval was more of a flood zone and skiers have been warned to watch for puddles.
“[I see] a lot heartbreak,” said competition spokesperson Sylvia Masich who noted that a year ago, the race was nearly cancelled due to temperatures being too cold.
How a warming climate is changing the Winter Olympics
She said inconsistent and unpredictable weather patterns have made it harder to plan competitions in both winter and summer as temperatures swing between more extremes.
Going back over the past decade, Masich said, weather conditions have only allowed the full Iceman competition to go ahead about half the time, which means organizers of the 39-year-old race have some tough decisions to make.
“The board’s going to sit down and look at what the reality is,” she said. “This isn’t something abnormal for just Prince George, this is across the globe, winter sports are under threat.”
Indeed, even the International Olympic Committee has indicated it may move the future editions of the Winter Olympics to January in order to benefit from more snow and colder weather, as the competition grapples with less plentiful snow and ice globally.
Those trends are also on the mind of Hall in Bella Bella, whose population is primarily made up of members of the Heiltsuk Nation with a long history of living off the land.
“Honestly, it does make me worry about climate change and how this kind of weather could affect our community in the future,” she said.
