Record setting weekend – Calm week – Anniversary of “The Big One”

Pictured above is the sunrise this morning on the West Coast courtesy of Josie Osbourne, Mayor of Tofino

Hot Weekend for January

After a soggy start, it turned out to be a decent weekend and was certainly very nice and warm.   We set or tied all time record high temperatures since 1900 on all stations with >15 year periods for the day on January 24th and 25th.

  • January 24
  • Previous top two records: 11.5ºC in 2005 and 2006 and 13.0ºC in 2013 at Robertson Creek and Cox Lake  respectively.
  • New Official Record: 13.3ºC
  • January 25
  • Previous top two records: 12.2ºC in 1906 and 12.5ºC in 2003 at Beaver Creek and Cox Lake  respectively.
  • Tied Record: 12.5ºC

January 23rd at 11.5ºC was #3 in the records after 2005 (Automated-Airport) and 1992 (“A”-Somass).  The record setting temperatures should be over now as things will cool off over the week.

A few showers Tuesday/Thursday – Rainy Weekend

It will be a fairly quiet week.  There is a weak bit of showers coming on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

wa_pcp3.36.0000

The threat of showers should end at sunrise Tuesday. So you should be safe for the day.

Some more light showers might appear on Thursday morning and Friday morning, but again, nothing that would even warrant packing an umbrella.

On Saturday evening and Sunday however, there appears to be another rain system coming.  It is still far out in the forecast though so things may change.

Anniversary of January 26, 1700 Cascade Earthquake and Tsunami

Today is the day that scientists, local First Nations stories, and Japanese records indicate was the day a massive earthquake and Tsunami impacted our coast line.

It occurred around 9PM local time on January 26th 1700.

From Wiki:

The 1700 Cascadia earthquake occurred along the Cascadia subduction zone on January 26 with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.7–9.2.[1] The megathrust earthquake involved the Juan de Fuca Plate that underlies the Pacific Ocean, from mid-Vancouver Island in British ColumbiaCanada, south along the Pacific Northwest coast as far as northern California. The length of the fault rupture was about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) with an average slip of 20 meters (66 ft).

The earthquake caused a tsunami that struck the coast of Japan,[2] and may also be linked to the Bonneville Slide.[3]

Cascadia_subduction_zone_USGS

The earthquake wiped out entire First Nation villages on the West Coast of Vancouver Island including the Huu-ay-aht village at Sarita Bay.   Stories from those that survived have lived on in local first nation culture.  The Japanese, who have a long history of both earthquake and tsunami events and very detailed record keeping, recorded a large Tsunami a day later as the wave rushed across the Pacific much like the wave did here when the major Earthquake struck Fukushima in 2011.

Just another reminder that we do live in an active earthquake and tsunami area and to always be prepared to evacuated at a moments notice from the low lying areas of Port Alberni.

 

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