November and Fall 2021 – Surprisingly not a Record
A very rainy, but not quite record rainy, month.
The Alberniweather and Port Alberni Climate Summary for November 2021 including the Fall period. (Sept/Oct/Nov)
Story of the Month – Floods and Atmospheric Rivers
Of course the floods caused by successive Atmospheric Rivers dominated the news and our lives this November. The strange fact for Port Alberni, however, was that we were not in the crosshairs. The largest day of rain, November 15, was a short term record at the Airport (since 1994) but only just. If we had been in the “River” we would have likely beat it by 10s or 100s of millimetres.
Daily rain totals were high but fairly normal, so while this November was a rainy one, with 25 of 30 days of measured rain, it was not a record and only that one day set a new short term record at the Airport. We can be thankful. Our records came in 2006 with the big wind storm and then again in 2009 when we set the current November record of over 800mm.
Story of Fall – Double the Rain but early and not a record.
Again this is a case of what could have been. If we were just a few kilometres to the south we would likely be talking about the rainiest fall ever, easily. But as it is we “only” received 1100mm of rain in the fall. That’s a lot. It’s almost double the average at the Airport and almost exactly double the long term average since 1895. As you can see in the charts below, this September/October/November period is among only a handful since 1895 that has reached over 1000 mm of rain.
What might be most notable is that November only accounted for half of that total. September and October were also very rainy. In total we had 16 days of rainfall with more than 25mm of rain this fall. Normal is 7. That’s more than 3 times more than the normal days of heavy rain and September and October accounted for almost half.
Snowy winter on the Way?
We might get a little snow this weekend but looking further out, with La Niña in effect and this parade of moisture, we could be in for some snowy days. I see some classic cold snap-followed-by-heavy-snow in Port Alberni’s future. But perhaps one thing we have really learned this year, is to expect the unexpected.
Enjoy the stats below, and stay safe.
Daily and All Time Records Set
Set at the Airport* since 1994 and compared to other stations** for “All Time” since 1900 (1895 for rain).
Just one new high temperature record was posted at the Airport this month. It did not beat the all time high at Beaver Creek. We also broke one rain record.
- Nov 3 rain 64.8 mm : #1 is 85.9 mm at Lupsi Cupsi in 1955.
- Nov 30 high temp 10.9º C : #1 is 15.0ºC at Beaver Creek in 1941.
This Month’s Graphs from Alberni Valley Weather Stations
A selection of graphs from Environment Canada stations and Alberniweather
This Fall’s Graphs from Alberni Valley Weather Stations
A selection of graphs from Environment Canada stations and Alberniweather
City Station Values
Mean Min, Mean, and Mean Max Temperature,
Total Precipitation (Fall) and Highest Wind (Fall)
- Alberniweather: 3.6 ºC, 5.5 ºC, 7.9 ºC, 427.2 mm (903.9 mm), SE 51.5 kph on 4th (75.6 kph Sep)
- Alberni Elem. : 3.8 ºC, 5.8 ºC, 8.1 ºC, 579.4 mm (1196.3 mm), SSE 26 kph on 9th (29 kph Sep)
- Maquinna Elem.: 3.5 ºC, 5.5 ºC, 7.7 ºC, 569.4 mm (1231.3mm), NA
- Neptune: NA
- Nick’s (Maq area): NA
City and Airport Averages
Compared to Normal
Differences from Normal (1971-2000) in the City
+1.4 °C, +0.5 ºC, 0.0 ºC, +227.6 mm (176.5%)
This Month’s Values
- City Stations: 3.6 ºC, 5.6 ºC, 7.9 ºC, 525.3 mm
- Normal 1971-2000 (Prt Alb A (Somass)): 2.2 ºC, 5.1 ºC 7.9 °C, 297.7 mm
Fall Season (Sep/Oct/Nov) Rainfall
- City Stations: 1110.5 mm
- Normal 1971-2000 (Prt Alb A (Somass)): 556.4 mm (+554.1mm from normal or 200%)
Differences from Normal Month (1981-2010) at the Airport
+0.6° C, +0.1º C, -0.2º C, +159.6 mm (146.2%)
This Month’s Average Airport Values
- Airport : 2.4º C, 4.7º C, 7.1° C, 504.8 mm, E 33kph on 7th
- Normal 1981-2010 (Rbrtsn Creek): 1.8 ºC, 4.6 ºC 7.3 °C, 345.2 mm
Fall Season (Sept/Oct/Nov) Rainfall
- Airport: 1015.3 mm
- Normal 1981-2010 (Rbrtsn Creek): 624.9 mm (+390.4 mm from normal or 162%)
Official Days of Precipitation at Airport (1981-2010)
This Month’s Normal at the Airport
- >= 0.2 mm: 20.1 : 25
- >= 5 mm: 12.7 : 20
- >= 10 mm: 9.6 : 17
- >= 25 mm: 4.0 : 9
Fall Normal at the Airport
- >= 0.2 mm: 45.6 : 60
- >= 5 mm: 25.0 : 40
- >= 10 mm: 17.6 : 32
- >= 25 mm: 7.1 : 16
* May have used backup Environment Canada Data source at WeatherStats.ca for Missing Data
** Short Term means since 1994 at the new AVRA Airport. Airport Records are compared to the 30+ year weather stations of record since 1900 (1895 for rain) at Beaver Creek, Port Alberni “City” and Robertson Creek. Note that records pre 1950 may be more likely to over-estimate high temperatures.
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