The sun is finally out, now that it's February
Here's another Vancouver-related article from the aforementioned Vancouver Sun. By the way, for those of you south of the border, 283.6 mm = 11.16 kilohectares.
"Soggy January sets two records for rain"
Maurice Bridge and Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun
The plants were happy, the people less so, but nothing could stop the rain Tuesday as poor weather helped Vancouver set two soggy records.
It rained for 29 of 31 days this January, according to Environment Canada, setting a record for the most rainy days in a given month.
"In terms of number of days with rain, it was the wettest, not only January, but any month of any year," Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones said.
With 17.6 millimetres of rain falling at the airport on Tuesday, Vancouver also broke a record for amount of rainfall in the city during any January.
On Tuesday night, Environment Canada confirmed that 283.6 millimetres of rain fell this past month, topping the previous January high of 281.8 set in January 1992.
"It has officially fallen," meteorologist Mike Gismondi said, noting the city had squeaked past the previous mark by fewer than two mm.
In spite of the seemingly ubiquitous rain, however, Vancouver failed to break the record for the most consecutive days of rain in January -- 28 days -- set in 1953.
Jones said there is no particular reason for the pounding Vancouver took in January.
"We're having one storm after another, so the storms are lined up over the Pacific and they're pummelling the coastline," he said.
"There's no pat explanation for that. We just know that for some reason, the storm track has been directed at us and we've had the most phenomenal number of storms on a daily basis."
Winds gusting between about 80 and 90 km/h at Tsawwassen also delayed or cancelled some BC Ferries crossings Tuesday. The 6:55 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to the Southern Gulf Islands was cancelled, with the next sailing expected to go this morning.
Boats bound for Duke Point were delayed and those for Swartz Bay were cancelled.
All the rain hasn't hurt the city's vegetation, said David Tarrant, public relations and program co-ordinator for the University of B.C. Botanical Garden.
"We certainly haven't seen any suffering yet, because the plants are dormant," he said. "Even the trees that are standing in water seem to be all right."
The weather conditions are encouraging early blooms, he said. "The mild weather associated with the rain softens the buds, and a lot of buds are opening a lot faster then they normally do."
Vancouverites saw only 35.5 hours of sunshine this January, compared with the average of about 60 hours.
Sarah Hamid-Balma, director of public education for the B.C. division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said about 15 per cent of the population suffers from the seasonal blahs between October and March.
"They'll feel a little lower than usual, although it doesn't usually interfere with daily life," she said.
However, about two to three per cent of the population will experience fatigue and changes in appetite and sleeping patterns, she said, and those people should see their doctor.
For the rest, she said, exercise and getting as much light as possible should help, even if it simply means turning on more lamps around the house.
"Soggy January sets two records for rain"
Maurice Bridge and Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun
The plants were happy, the people less so, but nothing could stop the rain Tuesday as poor weather helped Vancouver set two soggy records.
It rained for 29 of 31 days this January, according to Environment Canada, setting a record for the most rainy days in a given month.
"In terms of number of days with rain, it was the wettest, not only January, but any month of any year," Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones said.
With 17.6 millimetres of rain falling at the airport on Tuesday, Vancouver also broke a record for amount of rainfall in the city during any January.
On Tuesday night, Environment Canada confirmed that 283.6 millimetres of rain fell this past month, topping the previous January high of 281.8 set in January 1992.
"It has officially fallen," meteorologist Mike Gismondi said, noting the city had squeaked past the previous mark by fewer than two mm.
In spite of the seemingly ubiquitous rain, however, Vancouver failed to break the record for the most consecutive days of rain in January -- 28 days -- set in 1953.
Jones said there is no particular reason for the pounding Vancouver took in January.
"We're having one storm after another, so the storms are lined up over the Pacific and they're pummelling the coastline," he said.
"There's no pat explanation for that. We just know that for some reason, the storm track has been directed at us and we've had the most phenomenal number of storms on a daily basis."
Winds gusting between about 80 and 90 km/h at Tsawwassen also delayed or cancelled some BC Ferries crossings Tuesday. The 6:55 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to the Southern Gulf Islands was cancelled, with the next sailing expected to go this morning.
Boats bound for Duke Point were delayed and those for Swartz Bay were cancelled.
All the rain hasn't hurt the city's vegetation, said David Tarrant, public relations and program co-ordinator for the University of B.C. Botanical Garden.
"We certainly haven't seen any suffering yet, because the plants are dormant," he said. "Even the trees that are standing in water seem to be all right."
The weather conditions are encouraging early blooms, he said. "The mild weather associated with the rain softens the buds, and a lot of buds are opening a lot faster then they normally do."
Vancouverites saw only 35.5 hours of sunshine this January, compared with the average of about 60 hours.
Sarah Hamid-Balma, director of public education for the B.C. division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said about 15 per cent of the population suffers from the seasonal blahs between October and March.
"They'll feel a little lower than usual, although it doesn't usually interfere with daily life," she said.
However, about two to three per cent of the population will experience fatigue and changes in appetite and sleeping patterns, she said, and those people should see their doctor.
For the rest, she said, exercise and getting as much light as possible should help, even if it simply means turning on more lamps around the house.