Now that's a weather statement: Expect a heat wave this weekend

After a winter of snow and rain, it's the kind of weather forecast many West Coast residents have been waiting for.

The first heat wave of summer is coming this weekend, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.

"While we have had a couple of early tastes of the summer weather this spring, this weekend will be the first time in a while we get into the record-setting heat," says CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe.

As ahigh pressure ridge builds over the South Coast, temperatures will peak around 32 C in inland areas of Metro Vancouver and the rest of the South Coast.

That means records could fall in places like Abbotsford, where the current recorded high is 31.4 for Saturday and 32 for Sunday.

The high for the region may happenin Lillooet, where temperatures are forecast to hit 39 C Sunday.

Temperatures will begin to moderate Monday as an onshore flow of cooler, marine air develops, but Wagstaffe says the warmer weather should be back soon.

"Thanks in part to the lingering effects of a La Nina, the overall pattern looks to be shifting for the summer. Most long range outlooks point to a warmer than normal summer for much of B.C., partly due to low Arctic sea ice and a building El Nino."