Three communities broke records as Vancouver Island waved goodbye to an extraordinarily dry and mild month.

According to Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor, warm weather records for December were either set or tied in Victoria, Comox and Campbell River.

Those mild temperatures B次元官网网址� echoed throughout the region B次元官网网址� and lack of any snow will stand out as the most distinctive memory from December 2023.

B次元官网网址淒ecember 2023 was mild with above normal temperatures, near normal rainfall and no snow,B次元官网网址� noted Chris Carss, who records weather data for Environment and Climate Change Canada from his Chemainus home. B次元官网网址淭he lack of snowfall is becoming increasingly normal as regional and global temperatures continue to rise.B次元官网网址�

The mean daily maximum temperature for the month was 8.7 C, way above the normal of 6.4. The mean minimum was twice the normal, going from 2.4 C to 4.9 C.

According to CarssB次元官网网址� observations, Dec. 1-5 had periods of rain with near normal temperatures rising to above normal; Dec. 6-8 was partly cloudy and dry with above normal temperatures dropping to near normal; Dec. 9-10 saw rain with near normal temperatures; Dec. 11-12 was partly cloudy and dry with near normal temperatures; and Dec. 13-21 had periods of rain with near normal temperatures rising to above normal.

Meanwhile, Dec. 22-23 was partly cloudy and dry with above normal temperatures dropping to near normal; Dec. 24-30 saw periods of rain with near normal temperatures rising to above normal; and Dec. 31 was partly cloudy and dry with above normal temperatures.

Following is a breakdown of CarssB次元官网网址� statistics for the month:

Temperature

Mean maximum 8.7 C, normal 6.4 C.

Mean minimum 4.9 C, normal 2.4 C.

Extreme maximum 12 C on Dec. 4 and 5.

Extreme minimum 0 C on Dec. 23.

Precipitation

Total days with precipitation 20 (including mixed weather days), normal 21.

Total accumulated rainfall 217.2 mm, normal 226.9 mm.

Total accumulated snowfall 0 cm, normal 19.4 cm.

Total accumulated precipitation 217.2 mm, normal 246.3 mm.

Other Statistics

Days mostly or partly sunny and dry 7, normal 5.

Days with mixed weather 5.

Total days mostly or partly sunny (including mixed weather days) 12.

On Thetis Island, Keith Rush recorded 194.9 mm of precipitation for December at his Foster Point Road residence. ThatB次元官网网址檚 well below the 241.3 mm mark from December 2022.

Total precipitation for all of 2023 on Thetis was 1,008.1 mm thatB次元官网网址檚 just slightly below the 2022 total of 1,026.4 mm.

Looking ahead, B次元官网网址淛anuary is expected to see similar or somewhat less rainfall than December and continuing mild weather with temperatures averaging about two degrees above normal,B次元官网网址� Carss pointed out. B次元官网网址淩ain can be expected on about half the days of the month with only occasional sunny breaks during the other 50 per cent of the month that doesnB次元官网网址檛 receive any rain.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址攚ith a file from The Canadian Press

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