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Heat wave in B.C. breaks 64 temperature records

Heat wave in B.C. breaks 64 temperature records

This past weekend's heat wave in B.C. is one for the history books.

Environment Canada says 64 temperature records for communities across the province have been broken.

The highest temperature was 40.6 C, recorded in Warfield, a village outside Trail in West Kootenay, on Saturday.

Osoyoos, near the U.S. border about 400 kilometres east of Vancouver, came close — hitting 40.4 C.

Environment Canada had issued a special weather statement for the weekend, warning of high temperatures, even along the coast in Metro Vancouver.

Hot weather not over

Temperatures are expected to climb again on Canada Day and through next weekend, and the long-range forecast has B.C. in for a long, hot summer.

It has already been a remarkably dry year in much of B.C.

Snowpack was "extremely low" in April, when it normally reaches its peak, and the past May was the driest on record for most of the province.

That has led to an early start to the wildfire season, and concerns about drought conditions on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.

The heat is being driven by a high-pressure system sitting off the B.C. coast, and a warmer-than-normal sea surface temperature, according to CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe.

MAP: Where heat records fell