Editor:
I just found out Gibsons’ weather figures actually come from Point Atkinson in Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.
I have been noticing for a while that the temperature at my house is often five degrees lower than the stated Gibsons temperature shown on the app on my cellphone and websites such as The Weather Network. So I finally looked at the Environment Canada website and found the reason. It was –3 degrees at my house in Gibsons, but +2 degrees at Point Atkinson!
No big deal, I hear you say. However, last year we had a very similar cold and sunny spell to the one we are having now. It was –5 at my house for four nights in a row and 0 degrees during the day. The sports fields were frozen solid, and kids’ soccer games, which should have been cancelled, went ahead. I was told this decision to play was based on Gibsons’ posted temperatures, which were clearly wrong.
I wonder if there are any other situations where this knowledge may be important, such as the homeless sleeping outside situation.
Ian Anderson, Gibsons
