Metro Vancouver residents hoping for a toasty kick-off to summer may feel largely disappointed this year.
While there may be a few warmer days here and there, the national weather forecaster calls for a cooler than average start to the 2022 summer season.
While April didn't crack the top 10 coldest springs on record, it saw below-average lows. And while May hasn't been quite as cool, it was quite wet.
Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon says locals should prepare for cooler-than-average temperatures to continue through June. The department issued its official, complete summer forecast on June 1, albeit the forecast certainly wanes further out into summer.
"We see a cooler trend for summer but that's mostly weighted towards June, I would say," he told Vancouver Is Awesome in a phone interview. "We will have ups and downs as we started the month off on a warm note.
"But now this weekend we're getting into some cooler, unsettled weather again."
Heading into the week starting on June 6, locals can expect to see some warmer weather. However, Sekhon warns that it might not stick around for long. "There's a decent likelihood that we're going to see below-average temperatures for southern B.C. this month."
While the Canadian weather model shows a "cooler trend" for the region, international models show average or even slightly above-average temperatures for July. As a result, the meteorologist says it is likely that temperatures will likely fall closer to seasonal averages.
The signal for August is even less clear than July, notes Sekhon, adding that the models aren't giving a strong indication either way.
For now, the strongest forecast prediction is for June
Metro Vancouver weather forecast: Cool spring leads to a cool start to summer
If you felt like spring was a little chillier than average in Vancouver, you weren't alone. In fact, April was 1.4°C colder than average in Metro Vancouver. The climatological average temperature at YVR for April is 9.4°C but the mean average for the month was 8°C.
April was the 28th coldest on record, with Vancouver's records going back to 1896.
The cold weather trend lowered sea surface temperatures off the B.C. coast, which has contributed to below-average temperatures to kick off summer, Sekhon explained.
