With snow and rain totals lower than average in Chilliwack for 2024, it was a drier and warmer year weather-wise.
It was the 12th consecutive year of a warming trend that began in 1986, something never seen previously in Chilliwack.
But it wasn't a record-breaking year on that score.
"The year 2015 remains the warmest year on record with a mean temperature at 12.85 C, which is 2.65 degrees above normal," wrote Roger Pannett, volunteer weather observer for Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The mean temperature of 11.97 Celsius for 2024 was 1.77 degrees above normal, according to Pannett.
There were more sweltering hot days than Chilliwack saw a quarter-century ago. From May to September 2024 Chilliwack had to withstand 31 hot days with maximum temperatures rising above 30C, and it marked 23 years in a row with well above the average of seven hot days, again, a trend never seen before, Pannett noted.
There were 20 record-breaking high temps in 2024 with only one low-temperature record broken.
Temperature extremes for 2024 went from a high of 36C, which was 11.9C above normal on July 9 to the bitterly cold low of -16.7C, which was 14.6C below normal with a wind chill below -26 on Jan. 12.
"It was the coldest Chilliwack temperature since the record breaking -19 plus wind chill on Nov. 27, 1985."
It was also the coldest January temperature Chilliwack has seen since the -17.8C on Jan. 28 ,1951.
After the eight-day January cold snap, mild and rainy conditions returned.
On Jan. 29, an all-time maximum temperature for January of 18.5C, which was 14.5C above normal occurred.
Previous warmest temperature for the month of January was 18.3C on Jan. 9, 1953, 15 degrees above normal.
The last killing frost of -4.2 was on March 5, and as of Jan. 2, 2025 there have been no killing frosts below -2, a record never previously observed.
There were 270 frost-free days in 2024 which was record-breaking, compared to the average 216 days from 1951 to 1980. Previous record was 269 frost-free days.
For the second consecutive December there were only two frosts, with the 2024 frost total at only 24.
"Both observations mark an all-time record."
The average yearly frost totals 1951 to 1980 were 57 with a +or -15 standard deviation. The lowest frost total was 25 in 2015.
"For the twelfth consecutive year, precipitation totals were below the 30-year average, down by -20.65 per cent, including rainfall totals -18.54 per cent below normal and snowfall -49.22 per cent below normal."
The total precipitation for the year was 1,491.8 millimetres on 183 days compared to the average of 1,880.1 mm on 174 days.
