Warmer than normal temperatures have plants beginning to bud and people venturing outside to enjoy the sun.
The weather pattern is uncommon for February in Mission and while it has not been record-breaking, it has come close.
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the thermometer hit 15.3 degrees Celsius, warm enough to head outside without a jacket, but more than a full degree below the record high of 16.7 degrees, which occurred in 1963.
“It’s definitely exceptional, for sure,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald about the warm trend.
He said the normal high for this time of year is seven degrees so it’s been more than eight degrees warmer than normal.
“We have this huge ridge of high pressure. Looking at the makeup of this ridge, it’s a summer-like pattern. This is the kind of intensity of a high-pressure ridge that we see in July.”
He said it will likely be warmer in Mission this week than in Florida.
“It’s nice to gloat about, but enjoy it while it lasts.”
MacDonald said the switch is getting turned off as we get into a showery pattern, but it will still be warmer than normal. Highs of 12 and 13 degrees are expected for the weekend, which is still five degrees higher than normal.
But he warns that a cooling pattern is expected for the second half of February.