Every day was beach day through July with near-record temperatures and a historic lack of rain. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

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NANAIMO — While hot summer weather isn’t unusual for the mid-Island, the lack of precipitation remains a concern as drought conditions worsen.

Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan said the south coast of Vancouver Island was almost two degrees higher than the average for the month of July, with records in Nanaimo going back to 1892.

“Nanaimo was 1.4 degrees [Celcius] above seasonal, hitting 19.5 degrees as the mean temperature for the month… that made it the twelfth warmest July on record.”

Nanaimo broke a daily high-temperature record on July 5, getting up to 31.8 degrees, inching past the old record of 31.7 set in 1975.

Things were slightly warmer north of Nanaimo, as Comox came in with their fifth warmest July on record, with an average daily temperature of 1.8 degrees higher than usual.

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Precipitation-wise, the drought-like conditions persisted save for a downpour on July 24 when an unusual frontal wave of rain, according to Castellan pushed north from the south coast to the mid-Island.

“That gave 14.8 millimetres, and that was certainly a daily record from the Nanaimo area point of view and also boosted the numbers up so you saw 15.6 millimetres through the entire month, the normal is 25.4,” said Castellan.

He added despite the record breaking rain, the Nanaimo region recorded just 61 per cent of its normal July precipitation.

Other areas across the mid-Island weren’t as lucky when it comes to rain, as Qualicum Beach only recorded 4.1 millimetres for July with a typical average of 26 millimetres.

Castellan said places like Campbell River, Cape Mudge, Comox, and Entrance Island were also well below their monthly precipitation averages.

It continues a growing concern over drought conditions and potentially devastating effects for wildlife and the region as a whole.

He said we’ve been consistently behind normal totals since last fall.

“There’s so many implications to the drought word when it comes to fish and wildlife, agriculture, water scarcity, etc. From my point of view, we’re looking at numbers, even going back to last fall when we had a very dry September and October.”

Stage four water restrictions were implemented for the Regional District in early July, while the City of Nanaimo remains on stage three.

The central Island is also ranked at drought level five on a provincial scale.

With August being the month where the mid-island typically sees the least amount of rainfall, the warm weather and drought-like conditions aren’t expected to change any time soon.

Castellan said the central Island is on the cusp of a heat warning being issued over the coming days, as temperatures are forecast to remain in the high 20’s, with overnight lows in the high teens.

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