The springlike weather experienced in early July is expected to continue for the next few days around eastern Vancouver Island before giving way to a more seasonable summer.

The fair and near normal weather conditions that marked the last week of June lasted exactly two days into July, providing some sunshine for Canada Day. After that, cool wet weather returned and set up July for a similar pattern as June.

Normal temperatures and sunshine will return towards the middle and later periods of the month, according to Chemainus weather observer/statistician Chris Carss.

June was obviously a wet one, with Carss recording an accumulated rainfall of 72.8 millimetres compared to the normal of 43.5 mm.

It was the second wettest June observed by Keith Rush at his Foster Point Road residence on Thetis Island behind 62 mm in 2012. This June鈥檚 total fell just short at 59.3 mm while the average June on Thetis yields 32.6 mm.

鈥淭his spring鈥檚 La Nina ocean current that brought a lot of wet weather to the Chemainus Valley and most of Vancouver Island finally faded during June allowing for a return to more normal weather for the time of year,鈥� noted Carss. 鈥淛une started off wet, with above normal rainfall and below normal sunshine, but gradually dried out just in time for the summer solstice so that the astronomical summer and the meteorological summer arrived at virtually the same time.

鈥淭his is not as common an event as some might think, especially with the trend towards early summers in recent years due likely to global warming. Temperatures were within a fraction of a degree of normal. This meant a mix of spring and summer weather during the first half of June, gradually warming to more consistent summer temperatures and sunshine towards the last week of the month.鈥�

The statistical recap for June is as follows:

Temperature Stats

* Mean maximum 20.4 C, normal 21 C.

* Mean minimum 11.6 C, normal 11.8 C.

* Extreme maximum 30 C on June 27.

* Extreme minimum 8.5 C on June 6 and 14.

Sunshine

* Days mostly or partly sunny and dry 11, normal 14.

* Days with mixed weather (sunshine and precipitation) 5.

* Total days mostly or partly sunny (including mixed weather days) 19 (14+5 days)

Precipitation

* Total days with rainfall (including mixed weather days) 15, normal 10.

* Total accumulated rainfall 72.8 mm, normal 43.5 mm.

don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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