Even though we had a very refreshing weekend with 9mm falling at Alberniweather (Saturday only) and almost 17mm at the Airport (16 Saturday and 1 Sunday) we are now moving to Stage 2 water restrictions and our fire danger rating will creep back up as things quickly dry out again.
Stage 2 Water Restrictions Start Today (Monday)
The City has now moved to Stage 2 water restrictions which further restricts lawn watering and washing of sidewalks and vehicles but preserves watering of gardens and established shrubs and bushes.
NOTICE OF STAGE 2 WATER RESTRICTIONS
Due to low reservoir levels it is necessary to impose restrictions on Outdoor Water Use including garden and lawn watering.
Therefore effective 12:01 a.m. July 13th , 2015 and until further notice, Outdoor Water Use is restricted as follows:
Lawn Sprinkling –
Even numbered addresses can sprinkle on Wednesdays and Saturdays 6 – 9 am OR 7 – 10 pm.
Odd numbered addresses can sprinkle on Thursdays and Sundays 6 – 9 am OR 7 – 10 pm.New unestablished lawns, trees, shrubs and flowers –
Sprinkling outside of restricted times allowed only at the discretion of the City with a permit from City Hall.
Vegetable Gardens, planters, shrubs and trees –
Watering must be done by hand using a spring loaded shut off nozzle or bucket. 6 – 9 amor7–10pm. 2hoursperdaymaximum–anyday.Private pools, spas and garden ponds
Public and commercial fountains (recirculating) Filling is prohibited, topping up is permitted.Outdoor washing of cars, boats and houses –
Washing must be done by hand using a spring loaded shut off nozzle or bucket. Anytime.Washing driveways and sidewalks –
All forms of washing using treated drinking water are prohibited.
Commercial car washing, gardens, and pressure washing –
Exempt.
Public Parks, Playing Fields, Boulevards, and Planters –
Restricted as per detailed watering plan by Parks and Recreation
Below is a good chart showing the full array of restrictions as it will be presented tonight at City Council, note that this may be changed slightly if Council sees any issues with it.
Fire Danger temporarily subsides.
The rain definitely helped calm things down across the province, but it wasn’t enough rain to end the drought and really replenish the forests. Here is the map as of Sunday Monday.
In the image below you can see how the rating dropped from Extreme to Low on Saturday and Sunday and the forecast is for us to be back at High by Wednesday.
Insignificant Showers through Wednesday
The three charts below show Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have some very scattered showers mostly on the East side of the Island and a weak front moves through the north end on Wednesday.
Temperatures could reach up to 25º C each day depending on the cloud cover.
Return to dry hot days by weekend
After a last little pulse on Thursday it looks like we will be returning to a dry and warmer pattern.
This is the end of the forecast so take with a grain of salt but here is Saturday where we start to flirt with 30ºC and Sunday where it looks like we will surpass it.
The good news is that the long range models do not have this heat extending forever like our last one did. In fact, the composite of all the models has around 25mm of rain falling between now and the end of the month which would put us comfortably in our normal range.
Finally, I’ve been provided by a reader (Terry) with some pretty great pictures of the inside of the Philippine Mars which continues to sit on the beach awaiting its final flight to Florida, even though its sister Hawaii got a 30 day firefighting contract.
That is the cockpit of Philippine. Note that it was never upgraded like the Hawaii has been.
I am sure Philippine Mars got a kick out of watching her sister do test flights in preparation for active fire duty last week. Below are some videos I shot of those tests. The Hawaii is now ready to roll and has been waiting for the weather to clear before being assigned. There are unconfirmed rumours around that she may be sent to the Interior to help there. We will see what happens.
Have a great Monday!
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