21-degree day shatters 110-year-old temperature record on Vancouver Island

MacKenzie Beach in Tofino, B.C., is pictured. (District of Tofino/Facebook)

The west coast of Vancouver Island saw unseasonably high temperatures Wednesday, with Tofino recording the hottest March 26 since written record-keeping began in 1896.

The mercury rose to 21.3 C in Tofino on Wednesday, shattering the previous record of 17.8 C, which was set 110 years ago in 1915, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The weather agency said “a warm airmass” over the province led to several records being broken Wednesday, after four were broken Tuesday.

Elsewhere on the Coast, Bella Bella saw its hottest recorded March 26, with a high of 15.9 C on Wednesday surpassing the old record of 13.8C set in 1994.

Farther north, the community of Stewart on the Alaska border narrowly exceeded its previous record high of 14.4 C, which was set back in 1941. Wednesday’s high was 14.6 C.

Three other records fell in the B.C. Interior, with Chetwynd, Cranbrook and Sparwood all seeing new all-time highs on Wednesday.

Chetwynd’s new record is 19.6 C, surpassing the old record of 14.1 C by more than five degrees. The previous record had stood since 1994.

In Cranbrook, the new record is 19.3 C, up from the high of 16.2 C seen a decade ago in 2015.

Finally, in Sparwood, the new record is 19.4 C. The previous record of 14.5 C was set back in 1992.

ECCC says the temperature records it reports are “derived from a selection of historical stations in each geographic area that were active during the period of record.”