Rather than coming in like a lion, March began in B.C. Saturday with spring-like temperatures that broke warm-weather records in a dozen communities, according to preliminary data from Environment Canada. In Salmon Arm, the temperature reached 14.3 C – shattering the record for the warmest March 1 that was set more than a century ago, when it reached 11.7 C in 1910. In Kelowna, the mercury hit 13.3 C breaking the nearly century-old record of 12.8 C set in 1932. Other places in the southern Interior that saw record high temperatures included Clearwater where it was 14.5 C, Merritt where it was 16.4 C, Osoyoos where it was 14.9 C and Vernon where it was 12.9 C. On the Lower Mainland, the temperature in Pitt meadows was16.7 C, tying a record set in 1943. In Abbotsford it was 16.9 C, breaking the record set in 1990. Friday also saw record-breaking highs in B.C., where five communities recorded their warmest Feb. 28 on record. The complete list of records tied or broken Saturday:
