Something you notice as a born-and-raised west coaster is that people in other parts of North America have a different relationship to rain than we do.
There are whole regions 鈥� like southern California 鈥� where a light drizzle is treated in exactly the same way as a fierce winter storm. Precipitation in any form means the end of all outdoor activities! It鈥檚 time to hide indoors and wait out the deluge!
Meanwhile, we鈥檙e grabbing our umbrellas (or not even bothering, after all, it鈥檚 barely misting out there, right?) and heading out. It鈥檒l clear up. Can鈥檛 stay in every day.
Those of us raised here in coastal B.C. may be notoriously bad at driving in snow, to the derision of our fellow Canadians, but a good number of folks in California can鈥檛 even drive safely in rain! It鈥檚 baffling!
One thing that I think divides coastal British Columbians from a lot of other folks is that we鈥檙e so used to the rain, we miss it when it鈥檚 gone.
I grew up with the 鈥渃lassic鈥� version of the west coast summers 鈥� mostly dry and with plenty of sunny days, but relatively cool, and interrupted here and there by days of showers, too.
That weather pattern seems to be vanishing.
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Long summer droughts are becoming more common, and spiking temperatures are increasingly likely, especially here in our concrete and asphalt heat island in the Lower Mainland.
But we鈥檙e not actually going to stop being the 鈥榃et Coast鈥� anytime soon.
Climate change is re-distributing when we get our rain.
A variety of reports and predictions on B.C.鈥檚 climate as the world warms suggest that we actually will have more rain in total, particularly in the north, but also here on the south coast.
While summer drought events are projected to increase, winter storms will more than take up the slack.
Rain falling as a result of storms, according to one study, could increase by 40 to 60 per cent on the coast, and between 100 to 150 per cent on the northern Cariboo Mountains.
That pattern is already becoming familiar 鈥� long, hot summers, suddenly crashing into autumn and winter in which dry spells and torrential rains alternate. Stronger winds and more intense storms are expected.
At least our introduction to this year鈥檚 rainy season was pretty mild 鈥� even if it was categorized as a bomb cyclone.
Regardless of the intensity of the rain when it comes, I鈥檓 always glad to see it come back.
It doesn鈥檛 feel right to live in an ersatz California for three or four months of the year.
I miss the cool, sometimes damp summers, and the relatively mild autumns and winters.
We鈥檙e still the 鈥榃et Coast,鈥� and we always will be.
But it鈥檚 a different kind of weather than we鈥檙e used to.
Hopefully our summers won鈥檛 be so dry that we forget how to drive in the rain.
