Average temperatures and a bit more rain was how October shaped up weather-wise for the Nanaimo area. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

wet fall

October continues average weather trend for Nanaimo, with a bit more badly needed rain

Nov 3, 2024 | 10:08 AM

NANAIMO — The pattern of average weather continued for the mid-island in the month of October, with a bit more rain than usual.

The average temperature for Nanaimo last month was 9.8 degrees Celcius, only a tenth of a degree below average, while 136.4 millimetres of rain fell, good for 133 per cent of normal.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Brian Proctor pointed to the atmospheric river system which hit B.C. on Oct. 18 as the reason for higher-than-average rainfall.

“It had a big impact on that amount of precipitation. So a lot of the month we didn’t see a tremendous amount of precipitation, but we did see significant amounts of precip from that atmospheric river.”

Just over 70 millimetres of rain fell in Nanaimo between Oct. 18-21, not enough to set any daily rainfall records.

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However, several other communities around the province did, including the Ucluelet area which saw 236 millimetres of rainfall, beating their old extreme rainfall level of 69.9 set back in 1939.

Proctor said the west and northern parts of Vancouver Island were impacted the most by that weather system, but it does help ease our drought concerns slightly, but more is needed.

“We really need an extended period of precipitation, and a big winter snowpack to really affect the long-term drought conditions that area has been experiencing. So we’re helping to slowly alleviate those concerns, but we really do need that winter precipitation coming in to get us passed that hurdle and get us back to much more normal-like conditions.”

He said their hope for more rainfall may come true, as another weather system is expected to make landfall this weekend as well as another, stronger system sometime next week, putting Nanaimo back into it’s typical fall weather patterns.

Looking ahead at the rest of the year, Proctor said conditions are expected to remain average for the first half of November, but it’ll likely get wetter and colder as we move toward the Christmas season.

“By the time we get into December and January, really the La Nina is really starting to develop nicely at that point in time, and it’s more likely we’re going to see a continuation of a more wetter kind of pattern and a cooler kind of pattern as we move into winter.”

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNOW