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On Tuesday, Vancouver beat its previous record for most consecutive hours of sunshine, which was 388.1 hours, set in July, 1985.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail

The city of Vancouver – where the rainy weather is usually as incessant as the jokes about it – has recorded its sunniest month in at least 60 years.

Vancouver passed 390 hours of sunshine on a cloudless Tuesday morning. That beats the previous record of 388.1 hours, set in July, 1985, said Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones. Sunshine records date back to 1953.

The city is expected to receive more than 400 hours of sunshine in all this month – far surpassing the July average of 294.5 hours.

As well, "Raincouver" is on pace to set the records for driest July, and driest month, since precipitation record-keeping began in 1937, Mr. Jones said.

"Vancouver – the airport, anyway – has never gone an entire month [without] at least a trace of rain recorded," he said. A month with only a trace of rain on record "has happened twice before, but this July so far we haven't even had a trace reported at the airport."

However, there is a slight chance of a shower late in the day Wednesday, Mr. Jones said.

Tuesday was Vancouver's 33rd consecutive day without rain; the average July rainfall is about 40 millimetres.

Victoria, which logged a record 421.5 hours of sunshine in July, 1985, was also expected to break that record by either late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

While the south coast has enjoyed relatively mild temperatures, generally peaking in the mid-20s, the warm, dry conditions have created fire hazards in parts of B.C.

Between April 1 and Tuesday, the province's Wildfire Management Branch recorded 574 fires burning 5,778 hectares across B.C., said provincial fire information officer Alyson Couch.

This is less than the same period last year, which saw 670 fires burning 15,842 hectares.

Starting Thursday, a campfire ban will be in place in the Kamloops fire district, where the fire danger rating is high to extreme. The goal of the ban is to prevent human-caused forest fires as the weather remains warm and dry.

Meanwhile, the B.C. Day long weekend is expected to look more typical of Vancouver, with a 70 per cent chance of rain on Friday and a 60 per cent chance on Saturday, according to Environment Canada.

With a report from The Canadian Press

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