IT'S official. If you thought June was an especially lousy start to summer, you were right.
With just a few days left to go in the month, June clocked in with significantly lower temperatures, more rain and fewer hours of sunshine than usual.
"We're on a bad streak here," admitted Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones. "It's not a very summery pattern."
While mean temperatures for the month usually hover around 15.2 degrees Celsius, with maximum daytime temperatures of 19.2, this June's mean temperature has been distinctly cooler - at 13.9 degrees - with maximums only reaching about 17.3 degrees.
Feeling starved for sunshine? That's no surprise either. The month that usually offers 229 hours of sunshine only offered a measly 133 hours in the first 26 days.
There's also been more rain than usual - 67 millimetres were recorded in the Lower Mainland by Wednesday, compared to a usual 55 mm for the month. On the North Shore, it was even worse, with over 95 mm recorded at the West Vancouver weather station by then.
June can go either way, said Jones - it can be a spectacular start to the summer or it can be cold and gloomy. Unluckily for locals, both this year and last have offered up the cool grey versions of the month. This June has recorded even worse weather than June 2011, with both average and mean temperatures a full degree cooler than they were last year and with over 20 mm more rain.
"It's been weeks and weeks and weeks that we haven't been able to see the end of it," said Jones.
Those hoping to see the clouds part and sizzling temperatures arrive once the calendar turns over to July are likely to be in for disappointment.
"The pattern doesn't look so promising in the next few days," said Jones. "We've got showers in the forecast."
At some point summer is bound to begin, though. Historically, the middle of July to the middle of August marks the best weather on the south Coast.
But beyond that, Jones said there are no long-term forecasts for the summer months.
