Zero rain so far in June puts parts of B.C. on unsteady fire footing
Several major cities in B.C. haven’t seen any measurable rain so far this month, and the next week doesn’t hold much promise
Rain in June is like liquid gold across British Columbia, where we need every drop of precipitation we can get ahead of the heart of wildfire season.
That’s why it’s concerning that we haven’t seen any measurable rain so far this month in Vancouver, the airport in Victoria, or in Kamloops.
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Unusually dry June across southwestern B.C.
Rainfall totals in Vancouver have run a little behind normal for the past couple of months. The city saw 82 per cent of its normal rainfall in April, and 97 per cent of its normal precipitation in May.
We’ve had exactly 0 mm of rain so far this June, a month that averages about 51 mm of precipitation at the Vancouver Airport. It’s a similar situation down at the airport in Victoria, as well as farther inland in Kamloops.
Only a handful of years on record—seven, to be exact—have seen no measurable precipitation in Vancouver through the first 12 days of June. This is likely going to be Vancouver’s longest dry stretch so far in 2025.
History suggests we’ll see at least some rain by June 30. None of these three cities have ever recorded a completely rain-free June.
Vancouver’s driest June saw just 4.4 mm of rain in 1922. Victoria Airport’s lowest June rain total came in at 2.6 mm in 1951, with Kamloops following behind at 2.3 mm back in 1967.
Forecast holds slim rain chances
Looking ahead to this weekend, rain is expected across the Interior through Saturday, with heavy amounts expected in the B.C. Peace.
Along the South Coast, forecasters expect dry conditions to prevail for the next 7-10 days, with maybe one day of possible precipitation to break the dry streak.
This isn’t good news as we head into the heart of wildfire season, as we’ve seen with the Squamish fire this week.
Stay with The Weather Network for the latest on conditions across B.C.
Header satellite image courtesy of NOAA.