Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / The beach at Chilliwack Lake (pictured in the summer of 2022) might be packed this coming weekend, as Environment Canada is forecasting temperatures of 31-33 degrees this Saturday and Sunday. Unseasonably hot weather is expected to begin Friday and peak on Sunday and Monday, Environment Canada says.
Record-breaking heat in Chilliwack

Record-breaking heat forecast for Chilliwack, but won’t match 2021 heat dome

May 11, 2023 | 8:49 AM

CHILLIWACK — Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement as unseasonably hot weather is forecast for five days in Chilliwack and surrounding communities starting Friday.

In a special weather bulletin issued early Thursday morning (May 11), the national weather agency said daytime high temperatures will register in the high 20s to low 30s with overnight lows in the mid-teens.

The highest temperatures are expected Sunday and Monday, including forecasted temps of about 33 degrees those two days. Daytime highs will be 10 to 15 degrees above seasonal values, Environment Canada said, while overnight lows will be 5-10 degrees above what is normally experienced this time of year.

Freezing levels will rise throughout this event leading to increased snowpack melting with possible local flooding due to high stream flow levels. With elevated temperatures, the risk of heat-related illnesses will increase.

While the developing heat may result in daily temperature records being broken, Environment Canada stressed that the expected hot conditions will not approach those reached during the “Heat Dome” of late June 2021.

During that exceptional weather event between June 25 and July 1, 2021, British Columbia experienced a heat dome, a high-pressure weather system that traps heat, with record-high temps across the province reaching up to 49.6 degrees (121.28 Fahrenheit) in various locations.