According to historical data from Environment Canada, last month was the warmest December ever recorded in the Abbotsford area.
The News looked over 79 years of December weather data and the 2023 mean temperature of 6.3 Celsius has broken the previous record of 5.9 C set in 1950.
For the temperatures, the Abbotsford International Airport data was used from 1944 to 2011 and for 2012-2023 the Sumas Canal weather station was used.
Four of the past six years has seen December average 5 C or higher and the last time that the month averaged below zero was 1990 when the mean temperature was -0.5 C.
The coldest December recorded was in 1949 when a mean temperature of -1.9 C was reported. The average temperature over the past decade is 3.9 C. Abbotsford has seen below zero mean temperatures nine times in 79 years. Those years were: 1948, 1949, 1951, 1964, 1968, 1971, 1983, 1984 and 1990.
The top ten warmest Decembers were (in order): 2023, 1950, 1979, 1957, 1953, 1966, 2020, 2004, 1976 and 2019, 2018 and 1991 are tied for 10th with the same mean temperature.
Average temperatures over the previous decades include: 1950s – 3.86 C, 1960s – 2.91 C, 1970s – 2.92 C, 1980s – 2.4 C, 1990s – 3.09 C, 2000s – 3.32 C and 2010s – 3.68 C.
Abbotsford was one of five communities in British Columbia that either set or equalled temperature records for the month. Those four other communities were: Vancouver, Victoria, Comox and Campbell River.
The mean temperature at Vancouver International Airport last month was 7 C, tying with 1939 as the city’s warmest December on record since data started being collected in 1896.
This past December was also dry, leading to drought concerns in many parts of the province. The warm weather has also been challenging for winter sports enthusiasts and operators, with a lack of snow and less than ideal conditions for having fun in the great outdoors.
RELATED: Dry, warm B.C. December sets records in parts of the province