UPDATED… Seasonable weather is on its way back…Hopefully!

PRINCE GEORGE

Tuesday, May 16, 2023 | 1:10 pm. Last updated on May 17.

UPDATE: As of May 19, 2023, the forecast is calling for 20 to 30 mm of rain for the BC Peace on Monday. Over the weekend, a slight risk of thunderstorms is possible for the region. For Prince George, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are expected to be near normal May temperatures with a slight risk of thunderstorms over the weekend. Otherwise it is clear, sunny skies for Prince George. Warmer conditions could move back in late next week.

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The unseasonable warm temperature trend is on it’s way out of the region, the warmest month of May since 2019, when temperatures were also in the high 20 degree range for several days.

May 2023 will go down in the history books for record breaking temperatures but looking back at previous years prior to 2019, a few may stand out to be similar.

A warm trend during the month of May 2015 was approximately 5 degrees cooler than what we just experienced this weekend and on Monday but nonetheless, it was a warm spring with an active fire season in BC North.

In May of 2017, a warm trend near the end of the month brought up temperatures to around 29 degrees for Prince George, lasting a few days before temperatures rebounded back to near normal for May, which is 18 degrees.

In May of 2018, there was an 8 day stretch of warm weather maxing out at around 27.5 degrees from the period of May 11-19. A short reprieve of cooler weather moved in before temperatures shot up again near 28 degrees.

Both 2017 and 2018 were very active wildfire years, particularly for the southern interior and northwest BC. Both years saw many evacuees spread out across the province for weeks and some even months, particularly here in Prince George where our city stepped up to help those who needed it.

In May 2019, the Prince George region saw temperatures in the mid to high 20’s over an eleven day stretch, from May 21 until June 1st that year. It was the warmest May on the list until Sunday, May 14, 2023, when the airport temperature gauge reached 29.7 and again on May 15, 2023, with a temperature of 30.6.

For the rest of this week the temperatures will vary depending on the smoke forecast. A few more days of unseasonably warm weather remains in the forecast for the PG region. Cooler temperatures and some moisture are in the long range forecast for the end of the weekend and into next week.

The warming trend however will continue for the BC Peace. Seasonable weather is also in the long range forecast but it is too early to mention those temperatures at this point. The forecast is calling for a few days of rain and cooler temperatures, if it pans out. PJXM will update this story as we progress through the week.

A wind direction shift to the south is in the forecast for the North Peace region on Wednesday. Winds are forecast to be 10 km/h to the south.