Cool, wet start to summer
With the clouds having parted and the sun now returned to its full glory in the summer sky, the cool, wet days of June are starting to become just another hazy memory. Statistics show that temperatures in the area were colder and rainier than average last month, something most locals would likely just as soon forget, even the staff at Powell River weather station.
“June? You mean Junuary,” laughed John Ede, the station’s weather observer. “The average rainfall for June is supposed to be 74.4 millimetres. We got 141.6 [millimetres]. That’s twice as much rain as normal.”
Last month’s temperatures were also colder than average. The maximum mean was 17.7 degrees celsius, below the average of 19.3, while the minimum mean was 9.5 degrees, below the average of 10.4.
Most drastic, however, is the decrease in sunshine hours during June 2012. Ede said that totals fell below the average of 220.8 by over 30, coming in at 189.7. These figures are opposite to those observed in June 2011 when sunshine hours were above average, rainfall was below and temperatures were relatively normal throughout the month.
When the sun finally did come out last week, a blanket of smog softened much of its rays. Wildfires in Colorado and even as far away as Siberia are being blamed for the thick haze that enveloped Powell River and much of the south coast.
Back at home, sunsets have been the only fiery occurrence to be found as of yet, setting the water aglow for many of the past several evenings with a little extra help from the smog.
Current forecasts show the sun will likely stick around and Ede said that if winds calm down slightly temperatures could soon reach into the 30s. That said, he isn’t holding his breath. “Let’s see how long it will last,” he chuckled.
More roads open
Amendments to provincial government legislation, which are now in effect, will keep more backcountry roads open. Currently roads that don’t access year-round communities are sometimes closed to the public after an industrial user no longer needs them. The amendments will help keep more backcountry roads open by establishing that people using resource roads of their own accord do so substantially at their own risk.
