4 B.C. communities, including Vancouver, shatter rainfall records

British ColumbiaB.C.’s South Coast was hit by an unseasonable downpour on Friday, with Environment and Climate Change Canada saying four weather stations including Vancouver airport broke rainfall records on Friday.Rainfall recorded at Vancouver airport breaks 113-year-old record, according to preliminary estimatesAkshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Aug 16, 2025 4:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoPeople are pictured during a period of rain in Vancouver, B.C, on Friday, August 15, 2025. In the neighbouring city of Richmond, B.C., the Vancouver International Airport broke a 113-year-old record for the most rain recorded on Aug. 15 amid a major downpour for B.C.’s South Coast, meteorologists say. (Ben Nelms/CBC)B.C.’s South Coast was hit by an unseasonable downpour on Friday, with Environment and Climate Change Canada saying four weather stations including Vancouver airport broke rainfall records.Environment Canada had issued rainfall warnings for many areas of the Lower Mainland on Friday due to the storm. Although the warnings have ended, cloudy and rainy conditions have persisted into Saturday morning.Estimates from the weather agency show high rainfall amounts throughout the region, including more than 123 millimetres of rain recorded at Port Mellon in the Sea-to-Sky region, as well as 95.4 millimetres in Coquitlam.Meteorologists estimate that Vancouver airport saw 43.2 millimetres of rain on Friday — shattering a record of 26.9 millimetres set on Aug. 15, 1912.Abbotsford recorded 55.8 millimetres of rain, whereas the record was 18 millimetres, and West Vancouver recorded 80.6 millimetres of rain, breaking the previous 38.4 millimetre record. Squamish also broke a 37-year-old record for the amount of rain that fell on Aug. 15 by recording 35.8 millimetres on Friday.Some communities saw upwards of 120 millimetres of rain during the storm on Friday, according to Environment Canada. (Ben Nelms/CBC)ABOUT THE AUTHORAkshay Kulkarni is an award-winning journalist who has worked at CBC British Columbia since 2021. Based in Vancouver, he is most interested in data-driven stories. You can email him at akshay.kulkarni@cbc.ca.