For once Port Alberni wasn’t the rain capital of the country… nor Prince Rupert (which actually holds that title for Cities in Canada last I checked). No, today it was Vancouver. At YVR they received over 45mm of rain. Not only is that a record for this day. It’s a record for the entire month of August and it’s the most rain that has fallen in one day, on any day of any month, since 2005. Impressive.

The reason for the extreme amount of rain was apparently the northwesterly flow that associated with it.. that would have brought the stuff right down the Straight and onto the Lower Mainland. The main moisture itself though generated many days ago, in the Phillipines. This isn’t unusual this time of year, as we often get systems that start as storms or hurricanes in the Western Pacific, then curve up the coast of Asia towards the Aleutian Islands then back down the West Coast of North America to us…. this is similar to how Atlantic hurricanes that head up the US East Coast (like Danielle, and soon Earl) often end up hitting Iceland or Ireland and the UK… it’s just a little longer journey across the Pacific.

On that note, there is a very rare event happening right now near China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula, three tropical storms are all within less than 1000km of each, and if you look at them in animation (click the little movie camera), they are actually interacting with each other. It’s very active over on that side of the Pacific.

Here’s the proof:


Currently Typhoon Kompasu is the most likely storm to make the long treck our way, but who knows if its remnants will get here.

In other news. The campfire ban will be lifted on Wednesday at Noon! Hooray! That means campfires, tiki torches, and fireworks, are all permitted for the Long Weekend. See you at the Port Alberni Salmon Festival Fireworks on Friday night!

I’ve been listening to the wind in the trees tonight… sure feels like fall doesn’t it?

We should get a decent bout of rain tonight and into tomorrow. I already see it on the radar making its way down the Island. There is a silver lining though! If we get a good shot of rain it might just mean that the campfire ban could get lifted in time for the Labour Day Weekend (as it has in a number of regions around the province over the past few weeks). Plus it will also mean hopefully that the fireworks planned for the opening of the Salmon Festival on Friday night will go ahead!

They are still calling for a pleasant 25 degrees for Friday so that’s pretty darn nice for Salmon Festival which is often on the rainy side. Later this week I’ll see if I can dig up the stats going back a few years for Labour Day weekends to see how we stand in the grand order of things.

In the meantime, pull in the cushions from the deck so they don’t get wet! :)

Weather:
I heard Mark Madryga on CKNW this morning say this might be our last official kick at the can this summer… and Brett Anderson at Accuweather.com seems to agree as well. So get out there today, or this evening after work (if you’re like me) and soak up some of those last rays of warm bright sunshine!! That said. It’s still calling for 25 and sunny on the weekend, in my books, that’s just about perfect summer weather, no? :)

Oh, some sad news, my webcam looks to be on the fritz. I know many of you noticed it degrading over the past few months and now I’m in contact with the manufacturer and they’re letting me return it for replacement. It will likely be a few weeks before I have it back up and running. I’m considering also just getting a new webcam altogether…. suggestions welcome… but we’ll see.

Fishing:
The sockeye are done, here come the Springs! I’m told that fishing hasn’t been great so far, but I have heard of 25 and even a 40 pounder being caught in the Inlet, so it can’t be all bad. Of course, we all know that Port Alberni and the Alberni Valley kick butt when it comes to fishing all year ‘round so don’t forget to vote every 12 hours for Port Alberni as Ultimate Fishing Town!

No Rail? No Coal!:
I’ve got a few volunteers and I’m looking for some more now that I’m back at work and can’t be in town during the day. If anyone is interested in manning/womanning (personning??) a table during the day in the next week or two, give me a call/email, if you’re interested in taking the petition around your neighbourhood or workplace, give me a call/email. Or if you’d just like to talk about the petition, give me a call/email. You can find my contact info at www.norailnocoal.ca/contact/

I will be at the Harbour Quay again on Saturday Morning gathering signatures and it’s always available at the Free Store on Bute Street. Remember this thing is all about how we should be transporting this amount of stuff to Port Alberni. If you’re not sure whether to sign just ask yourself, “If a mine were to happen, would you rather the product be transported by truck, or train?”.

Looks like Port Alberni set a few records this past weekend. We were the hotspot in Canada on Sunday. Good stuff! :)

There were lots of records broken, and many records were broken by a degree or two or more, which is always a significant event. And for us in particular, our old record was 31C, and we hit 36C on Sunday, so that’s a major break. Compared though to what much of Russia has been experiencing, we were far from the worst off. Moscow hit highs above 30C for 30 straight days.. and many of those days, above 35C and hitting 40C a number of days, which is 20C above normal…. a phenomenally exceptional heat wave. A similar heat wave here would have seen temperatures no less than 36C for 30 days straight and peaking at 46C!! I’ve been in 49-50C heat in Australia… there is a reason they literally live in caves in the desert.

Anyway. That stuff is now over thankfully, though the damage is done. We have major fires to deal with here in BC, and they’re talking about spending $1 Billion to flood the burning peat bogs in Russia.

In happier news:

Go Vote for Port Alberni for Ultimate Fishing Town!

Make sure you pass it along to friends

NOTICE: Hi folks, just to let you know, the station will not be updating until later this evening. I’m rearranging the living room which includes the Mac Mini weather server. Suffice to say… it’s HOT out there. 34.2C is our high for the day so far. Back soon. Chris

Yesterday the forecast was saying it would be 35 by Saturday. Thankfully, they’ve pared that down by a couple degrees, but they’re still saying it will be in the mid-thirties going into next week. Rev up the fans and make sure your blinds are down because summer is about to come back for Round Two. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts… will it be like July and go on for a few weeks, or will it be like the long-term models predict and oscillate between heat and moisture. We’ll see.

The No Rail No Coal petition will be available for signing again today (Wednesday) at Echo Centre between 9AM and 12PM. I will be outside the Museum/Library Entrance. I will also be down at the Harbour Quay, hopefully camped out at a picnic table, on Saturday 9AM to 11AM.

The petition is also always available to sign at the Free Store on Bute and 5th (beside the Play Place).

Please come sign the petition and make your voice heard. More information at www.norailnocoal.ca