Even the geese were enjoying the beach at Riverside Park yesterday, April 18, as record heat descended on Kamloops.

(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Nearly 50 communities set new high temperature records in B.C. yesterday, including more than a dozen in the Southern Interior.

Environment Canada is reporting new records in all corners of the province yesterday, April 18, including Kamloops, where a high of 30.5 C yesterday surpassed the previous record of 28.9 C, and Vernon, where a high of 26.4 C beat the previous record by 1.4 degrees. At 27.4 C, Kelowna beat the previous record of 26.1 C set in 1915 and Penticton, at 27.3 C, beat the previous record of 26.7 C.

Blue River, Clinton, Lillooet, Lytton, Merritt, Osoyoos, Princeton, Salmon Arm and Summerland also set new records.

Many of the records were broken by at least a few degrees yesterday, though in Puntzi Mountain and Fort Nelson, previous records were smashed by eight degrees. The oldest record to fall in B.C. was in the Victoria Harbour area, where the previous record of 17.8 Celsius was recorded in 1897.

The heat has been hitting more than just B.C. though. Yesterday 29 new records were also set in Alberta, another nine in Saskatchewan and three in Northwest Territories.

The high temperatures are expected to continue through the end of the week, with highs of 25 C to 31 C expected throughout the region.

Record highs for April 19 are in the mid-20s for the Okanagan and 28.3 C in Kamloops while records for April 20 are in the high-20s across the region. Kamloops will likely fall well short of the 31.1 C record for April 21, but with a high of 27 C in the forecast and records in the mid- to high-20s, Okanagan cities could set new records Thursday as well.

Seasonal normal high temperatures range from 18 C in Kamloops to 16 C in the Okanagan.

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