Lots of Rain, 16 October 2003.

Further Comments

Everyone always seems to think that Victoria is wet. Well, the summers here are wonderfully dry (See this climatology figure) and winter is indeed wet, but not as wet as Vancouver. In 2003 we certainly made up for a wonderfully hot and dry summer on the 16th of October.
 - our weather station recorded 74.2 mm of precipitation on the 16th.  
 - for much of the day the rain rate was approximately constant at 2 mm/hr.
 - during the afternoon the rain rate increase to almost 6 mm/hr where it
   remained until just before midnight.
 - the Environment Canada gauge at the Victoria International Airport 
   (30 km from us and, in our experience, wetter) recorded 136.0 mm.  
 - this wet system persisted for several days, it was a rainy week 
   (see the bottom figure)
Here is the data.

Below is the combined visual and infrared image from the GOES satellite. The west coast of North America is at the top of the image. You can just make out Vancouver Island at the centre of the band of cloud where it touches the continent. The low in the Gulf of Alaska is pulling humid air eastward in what some call "The Pineapple Express".








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