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

They lifted the Smoke Advisory this morning. The change in the air this morning was very noticeable compared to Thursday. What a weird light Thursday produced…. it was as if it was evening all day long. I’ve never seen anything like it growing up in Port Alberni. Would love to hear about anyone else who might have experienced something like that in the Alberni Valley. I feel sorry for anyone who had breathing problems, even I could feel it in my lungs.

Now that that is done, it looks like we might actually get a little rain tonight and tomorrow. The gardens will love it. I fear it won’t be near enough to lower the fire danger rating, but every little bit helps.

Just for context… in the past two months (since June 6) Alberniweather has received a grand total of 9mm of rain. And all of that fell before July 2 (on June 15 and July 1).

But if you think that’s dry, that’s nothing. Consider the extreme heatwave that has gripped European Russia and Eastern Europe this past month and shows no sign of stopping.

In Moscow, records go back to 1880.

At 3:30 pm local time today, the mercury hit 39°C (102.2°F) at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. Moscow had never recorded a temperature exceeding 100°F prior to this year, and today marks the second time the city has beaten the 100°F mark. The first time was on July 29, when the Moscow observatory recorded 100.8°C and Baltschug, another official downtown Moscow weather site, hit an astonishing 102.2°F (39.0°C). Prior to this year, the hottest temperature in Moscow’s history was 37.2°C (99°F), set in August 1920. The Moscow Observatory has now matched or exceeded this 1920 all-time record five times in the past eleven days, including today. The 2010 average July temperature in Moscow was 7.8°C (14°F) above normal, smashing the previous record for hottest July, set in 1938 (5.3°C above normal.) July 2010 also set the record for most July days in excess of 30°C—twenty-two. The previous record was 13 such days, set in July 1972. The past 24 days in a row have exceeded 30°C in Moscow, and there is no relief in sight—the latest forecast for Moscow calls for high temperatures near 100°F (37.8°C) for the next seven days. It is stunning to me that the country whose famous winters stopped the armies of Napoleon and Hitler is experiencing day after day of heat near 100°F, with no end in sight.

As a result, soil moisture in some portions of European Russia has dropped to levels one would expect only once every 500 years.

As you may have guessed, the Smoke Advisory remains in effect. And I don’t see much improvement in the air quality until Saturday when we’re supposed to get a little rain. There are air quality advisories of some sort for almost all of Southern BC.

Here is the warning from the BC Ministry of Environment:

WILDFIRE SMOKE ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR THE EAST COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND

(Aug 5, 2010 – Nanaimo)The Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Vancouver Island Health Authority is continuing a Smoke Advisory for the east coast of Vancouver Island from Cowichan Valley to Campbell River, including the communities of Duncan, Parksville, Port Alberni, Courtenay and Comox, because of forest fire smoke that is affecting some areas. Weather conditions are forcing smoke from wildfires in the interior of British Columbia to the coast, producing smoky skies throughout the South Coast Region. Smoke concentrations will vary widely as winds, fire behaviour and temperatures change. This situation is expected to persist for at least the next 24 hours.

Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, contact your health care provider: difficulty in breathing, chest pain or discomfort, and sudden onset of cough or irritation of airways. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, and lung or heart disease.

People with heart or lung conditions should reduce their levels of activity while air quality is poor. These individuals should watch for worsening of their symptoms. If this happens, they should reduce their exposure to the smoke and contact their health care provider, walk-in clinic or emergency department for advice. To speak to someone immediately about your health concerns, contact HealthLink BC, available toll free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 8-1-1, or via the web at: http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/kbaltindex.asp
Forecast weather conditions on Friday and Saturday are expected to reduce smoke concentrations over the area.