May 2022 Weather In Review – Above Average Rain, Below Average Temperature

Chilliwack (Roger Pannett, Volunteer Weather Observer for Environment Canada) – May 2022 Data recorded by Roger Pannett, Volunteer Weather Observer for Environment Canada at Chilliwack, B.C.

Weather conditions, throughout May, remained predominantly cool and showery as a series of upper level low pressure troughs plagued British Columbia. Another symptom of the lingering La Nina.

The good news, concerning the above normal precipitation and below normal temperatures, is the contribution to wild fire suppression. However, because of the persistent cool temperatures, the delayed alpine snow melt has increased the Fraser river basin snow pack to 129% above normal. With no hot weather in May, alpine snow melt has been stalled and then slow and steady. On May 31^st, at the Mission gauge, the Fraser river rose to 3.25 meters. This compares to 4.5 meters a year ago and 5.25 meters two years ago.

Temperature extremes were a low of 4.9°C (-2.4°C) on May 13^th and high of 24.2°C (+4.2°C) on May 31^st.(The warmest day since the 25.0 °C on September 25^th 2021.) The 24.2°C May max was the lowest in 11 years.

For the 2^nd consecutive May, no temperature records occurred. With mean temperatures at 12.59°C, 0.41°C below normal (standard deviation + or -1.4°C) it was the coolest May since 2011.

With rainfall at 12.6% above average, it was the wettest May since 2013.There were 23 days with rainfall, well above the average 12 days and the most since May 1990.

Total March to May spring rainfall was 355.4 mm, 88.7% of the normal precipitation. However the 65 days of spring rainfall are well above the 44 day normal.

The 2022 precipitation total to date is 683.9 mm on 97 days compared to the average of 859.1 mm on 80 days.