Last month was the second-soggiest July since record-keeping began, according to the Southeast Fire Centre’s weather office.
We received over 117 millimetres of rain, more than twice the average, but still well short of the all-time record for the month of 143 millimetres set in 1998.
It was the second straight month of heavy rains. What was different than June — the wettest month on record — was that all the rain fell in only nine days.
According to forecaster Ron Lakeman, the first three days of July were similar to the previous month, with a Pacific disturbance producing frequent showers and thundershowers
A record daily low of 6.6 degrees was set early on the 4th.
High pressure followed for a dry and warm period between the 5th and 13th. The warmest temperature of the month, 35.9 degrees, was recorded on the afternoon of the 8th.
Showers and thundershowers then returned the night of Friday the 13th, and “continued to plague the area” for a week as a small upper low pressure system stalled over Washington-Oregon and pumped bands of moisture northward, Lakeman said.
An intense thundershower on the afternoon of the 17th produced the greatest single-day and likely the greatest one-hour rainfall on record for Castlegar.
About 50 millimetres of rain fell between 3 and 4 p.m. with another 14.8 millimetres in the following half hour. The total for the 24-hour period was 68.4 millimetre, which was more than the average July total of 50.8 millimetre. The previous one day record was 56 millimetres on July 10, 1998.
The rest of the month was generally warm and dry. The average temperature was 1.6 degrees warmer than normal.