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Rushton’s Weather Report: Labour day heat wave no joke!

Self-Professed “weather geek” Luke Rushton delivered a blistering report to the Gazette on the recent labour day heat wave that hit on the North Island.
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GOOGLE IMAGES PHOTO Woss hit some very hot temperatures on labour day.

Self-Professed “weather geek” Luke Rushton delivered a blistering report to the Gazette on the recent labour day heat wave that hit on the North Island.

“The labour day heat wave we had earlier this week was unlike anything I’ve experienced for this time of year,” said Rushton. “I live in Woss, and we are usually one of the island’s hot spots in the summer.”

Rushton looked online and saw that the Port Hardy Airport had broken records from:

Sept. 4 at 23.2 - old: 21.1 (1973); and

Sept. 5 at 26.8 - old: 24.4 (1949).

“Where I live in Woss, it was even hotter,” said Rushton.

“Our unofficial weather station here hit a reliable baking high of 38.8 degrees (101.8°F) on Sept. 5, making us the unofficial hot spot not only in B.C., but in all of Canada that day by about six degrees.”

Rushton said other places also saw records tumble, including:

Sept. 4-5 - Campbell River hit 31 degrees, beating records from 1988 and 1973;

Sept. 4 - Comox hit 31.7 degrees, beating an old record of 28.9 degrees from 1941;

Sept. 4 - Nanaimo hit 33.1 degrees, beating an old record of 31.7 degrees from 1955; and

Sept. 4 - Victoria Airport (YYJ) hit 31.2 degrees, beating an old record of 31.1 degrees from 1955.

“Even though we do not have a true weather station here in Woss, it is very reliable,” said Rushton, adding he felt every bit of the 38.8 degree heat Woss had on Sept. 5.

“If there’s one way I can describe it, let’s just say it felt as if I was trapped inside a blow dryer every time I went outside,” Rushton said.



Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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