The Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes more unseasonably warm temperatures following record-breaking heat over the weekend.
Locals have enjoyed a stretch of summer-like weather, with temperatures climbing several degrees above seasonal averages thanks to a ridge of high pressure.
On Saturday, March 16 new temperature records were set in 40 areas across British Columbia, and another 38 records were broken across the province on Sunday, March 17.
On Sunday, a new record of 15.1 C was set in the Vancouver area; the previous record, 14.4 C, was set in 1900 - a whopping 124 years ago.
Other parts of Metro Vancouver also saw record-breaking heat, including West Vancouver, which set a new record of 18.9 C, breaking the previous record of 17.8 C set in 1995.
Places further inland in the Lower Mainland saw temperatures soaring into the 20s. Pitt Meadows set a new temperature record of 22.5 C, replacing the previous record of 17.8 set in 1995. Abbotsford set a new record of 21.5 C, replacing the previous record of 20.6 set in 1947.
Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes showers, temperatures falling following heat
Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee told V.I.A. on Monday that temperatures along the coast approaching 15 C and close to 20 C inland are rare for mid-March.
The heat is expected to continue through today and Tuesday before transitioning to slightly cooler temperatures and showers on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, temperatures should climb as high as 14 C or 15 C along the water and as high as 20 C inland.
Temperatures in line with seasonal averages, with daytime highs of 10 C and overnight lows of 3 C or 4 C, should return by Friday.
Lee added that the unseasonable warmth can melt some of the snow in the coastal mountains. While it isn't entirely uncommon to have some early spring heat in March, the "span of heat was longer" than what the month typically receives.
Thanks to a strong storm cycle at the end of February and into the start of March, B.C.'s overall snowpack levels rebounded significantly from dangerously low levels recorded in February.
But the latest bulletin from the B.C. River Forecast Centre shows that the South Coast's snowpack worsened slightly.
While modest heat in March allows some snow to melt, preventing possible flooding in the future, the coastal mountains sit at just 40 per cent of their typical reserves, Lee explained.
Stay up-to-date with hyperlocal forecasts across 50 neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland with V.I.A.'s Weatherhood.
