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Castlegar area sees only 21% of normal rain in August

Hot and dry August reported from weather station at Castlegar airport
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(Black Press Media file)

August in Castlegar was hotter and drier than average according to statistics released from the Southeast Fire Centre weather centre.

Forecaster Jesse Ellis reports 6.4 millimeters of rain during the month, just 21 per cent of the average of 30.4 mm.

The most extreme weather of the month occurred on Aug. 11 when a brief period of moderate to heavy rain along with dime-sized hail and gusty winds struck the region.

Ellis says an uncommon weather pattern involving a small upper low tracking slowly eastward along the US border through the base of a strong upper ridge was responsible for the thunderstorms between Aug. 21 - 26. Most of those were relatively dry with local rainfall amounts ranging from nil to 0.2 mm each day.

The lowest temperature of the month was 6.7 degrees on the morning of Aug. 28.

The highest temperature of the month was 36.6 degrees (the all-time high for August is 40.0).

One new daily maximum temperature record was set on Aug. 30 at 35.6 degrees, beating the previous record for that day (35.0) set in 1967.

The mean monthly temperature was 2.7 degrees above normal.

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