Abbotsford is located so close to a large body of water, the Pacific Ocean. This is what mostly contributes to its climate. Large bodies of water have a moderating effect on the land nearby. This is because the water takes a long to time to heat up during the summer time and a long time to cool off in the winter, causing the air around to act the same way. The level of precipitation is very high because of the proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

Another main factor affecting Abbotsford's climate are the ocean currents. The west coast of Canada has a warm ocean current called the North Pacific Current ; this current brings warm, moist air to the Pacific coastal areas, in this case, Abbotsford.

Winds and air masses also contribute to this city's climate because of the prevailing winds in Canada, also known as the Westerlies (Air rises high into the atmosphere at low pressure belts and descends at high pressure belts, the air flows across Earth's surface from high to low pressure belts- this is what causes prevailing winds). The Westerlies are controlled by the polar front jet stream (which moves from west to east). North of this jet stream is cold air and south of the jet stream is warm. In the summer, the jet stream moves northward, therefore we get warmer weather. Vice versa, in the winter, the jet stream moves further south and we get colder weather. As well as this, an air mass hovering over an ocean will most likely bring more precipitation into places closer to water like Abbotsford, than somewhere like Toronto, which is far away from the ocean.

Abbotsford and the rest of British Columbia's climate can also be affected by relief precipitation. As moist air rises up against the windward slope of a mountain range, it expands and cools causing more condensation. This creates more water droplets in the air which become larger, causing raindrops to form. This is what causes rain. In colder temperatures (below freezing) the raindrops sublimate into snow. As the cool air from the windward slope descend on the leeward slope, it becomes warmer, causing more evaporation. This results in a drier climate and less precipitation (also known as a rain shadow). Abbotsford is located on a windward slope, which is what causes its vast amounts of precipitation.

Lastly, Abbotsford's climate is affected by the urbanization. The pavement, cars and buildings of urbanized cities tend to absorb and reradiate more of the sun's energy, causing them to have higher temperatures. Areas downwind of cities usually have more precipitation. This is because the pollution particles from the city act as nuclei for water droplets. 

1800s: the early settlers had to cope with very bad conditions in Abbotsford. Their plan was to clear the land they logged and use the land for farming. However, with the annual flooding in the Fraser River and Sumas Lake, swarms of mosquitoes hatched in the shallow water in the logged area. It was so bad that schools were closed for periods of time, livestock were killed and children had to stay inside at all times. Therefore, the removal of the leftover stumps from the logging were virtually impossible. However, this was solved by draining Sumas Lake in 1923 (Reid, C., n.d.). 

 

1948: the Fraser River flooded in Chilliwack and other areas along the river. The high-water mark at Mission rose to 7.5 m (24.7 ft). This was due to the cool temperatures in spring, therefore the snow on mountains did not have time to melt. When temperatures suddenly rose one weekend in May, the snow started to melt at a fast pace, causing the water levels to slowly grow resulting in a flood. When the water levels receded about a month later, 16,000 people had been evacuated, and the damages were worth $20 million

Recent: 

All of the below: (Personal Weather Station in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada - Climate. n.d.)

Due to climate change, it is most likely there will be floods as big as the 1948 flood every 50 years or so (Nagel, J., 2014). If the climate change is worse, there will be more often floods that are worse than the floods that happened in Sumas Lake in the 1800s (Nagel, J., 2014). 

Climate change will affect Abbotsford in a few ways. Firstly, the ice melting in the North will cause the sea level to rise. Abbotsford's proximity to the Pacific Ocean will cause more flooding, similarly to what happened in the 1800s. As well as that, there will be wetter winters. The heat from the sun will actually cause more heat in the city because the pavement, buildings, cars will absorb and reradiate the heat. Therefore, this means warmer temperatures in general. A warmer and wetter climate could set a better atmosphere for the crops to grow, which is one of Abbotsford's industries.