Swimmers enjoy a beautiful Parksville sunset to end a hot day on Wednesday, July 27 (submitted photo/Alanah Shields)

By Jordan Davidson

mercury falling

Relief en route as summer heatwave winding down for Nanaimo region

Jul 29, 2022 | 12:08 PM

NANAIMO — Mid-Island residents who haven’t bought an air conditioner yet might be wondering when there will be some relief from the heat.

Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee said a move in the pattern to more seasonal conditions is coming soon.

“The heat is going to last until this weekend, at least into Sunday (July 31) from what we can see. By Monday and Tuesday, they’ll be a shift in the weather where we will get more clouds from the Pacific back in, so with more clouds in the area the temperatures will begin to decrease.”

The long-term forecast in Nanaimo is calling for highs in the low 20’s after the B.C. Day long weekend, which is more in line with the seasonal average for this time of year.

Lee said days or weeks of intense heat, like the historic heat dome which hit B.C. last June, should be something we should expect in future summers.

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“It’s not out of the question that we continue to see this trend. Rather than bracing for them, we should prepare for them by getting adequate cooling equipment into our homes if it becomes a more common theme.”

While there is still plenty of summer left to go, the chances of another heat wave hitting us are low.

Lee said while heat waves in August and early September are not uncommon, the intense heat is less likely as the summer goes on.

“Being summertime, our sunlight hours get longer and longer. The heat dome event from last year really occurred into the equinox where we are getting the peak amount of sunlight hours. It was harder for us to cool down and that’s why our temperatures were able to build that high and reach historic levels.”

Overnight temperatures for the start of August are also returning to seasonal normal, with lows of around 15 degrees overnight, helping to cool things off.

Nanaimo did manage to narrowly break a heat record this week. On Tuesday, July 26, the monitoring station at the airport reached a high of 34.4 degrees, beating the old record of 33.9 degrees set in 1971.

Environment Canada also reported Port Alberni hit 37.7 degrees on the same day, beating their old record of 36.5 degrees set in 1998.

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