I’ve gotten the following message for people in Nanaimo:

Date: December 19th, 2009

To: The Media

From: Karen Lindsay, Emergency Program Manager

Re: Emergency Managers urge residents to prepare for another snowfall.

With a recent snow event just behind us, road crews from the City of Nanaimo are gearing up for more after receiving weather reports that heavy accumulations may hit Nanaimo and area this Saturday and Sunday.

As a result of these forecasts, the City of Nanaimo Fire Rescue Department is urging residents to be prepared in the event that additional accumulations hit the area this weekend adding to existing snow levels.

Residents should be prepared by ensuring you stock up on supplies in your home which include food and water, light sources, pet food, gasoline for vehicles and other basic needs. If you are on medication, ensure you have a supply that will last you for minimum of 7 days.

Should a significant snow event occur this weekend the City of Nanaimo will provide information to the radio stations, The Wave 102.3 and The Wolf 106.9. The City requests that residents listen to these stations for any emergency updates and information should a significant snowfall event occur.

Environment Canada has a SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT as well.

Expect lots of snow, and potentially wind as well.

It’s darn cold out there… be careful!

The computer models are saying we could get up to 20cm of snow between Saturday evening and Monday Morning. So be prepared.

The weather charts are a complete mess for that time. Low pressure systems all over the map on the West Coast. It’s like they missed us!

It looks good for a white or at least slushy Christmas. As the Arctic ridge breaks down more warm Pacific air will come in so the forecast is for it to get up to above freezing on Christmas Eve and Day. It doesn’t look like too much rain if there would be any though. And I’m willing to bet that this cold air be hard to push out of the valley.

But before then… watch out for Sunday, it looks like a doozy.

Careful out there today and tomorrow. This snow will continue for a few more hours and then the cold will be back. Don’t drive if you don’t have to. Stay home with hot chocolate and play in the snow with your kids (or without! :) ).

There is a Blizzard Warning for the Fraser Valley!

UPDATE:“For the Record”, as they say :) I phoned in to the Sever Weather Reporting Line with a snow amount of 15cm for the day as of around 8PM.

It’s snowing lightly still and we’re supposed to get flurries tonight along with the cold.

Interesting fact I heard on the radio today. The salt they use on the Highways lowers the freezing temperature to -7C on the road surface, so temperatures any lower than that, which we’re supposed to get over the next few days, and everything will turn to rock hard slick ice.

Be careful out there. But have fun :) My kids had funa apparently today… as I fought the Blizzard in Nanaimo. :)

So even though we only got a skiff of snow while Nanaimo and Whiskey Creek got 5cm… a winner was definitely declared today.

Mary guess Today at 10:30AM and she got it almost bang on!

So Mary, I have a Canadian Tire Snow Shovel waiting for you here! :D

If you don’t see my email to you then please contact me at
Windward Systems
250-720-7777
chrisale@gmail.com

CONGRATULATIONS!

– An honourable mention goes to my wife, who made her guess a couple weeks back and picked today. – I think our next contest should be the first day that it hits 20C in the spring. We’ll start that one up in a few months.

I just woke up and tucked my kidlet back in bed… looked at the satellite picture here… and I actually don’t think we’re going to get much of anything today. It looks like the body of moisture is getting shoved right down the coast and won’t come onshore until Southern Washington.

What it *does* look like is that in about 2-3 hours, it’s going to get really freakin’ cold, and maybe a little windy too here, definitely windy later today in Nanaimo and other places.

We’ll see. But right now, I’m bucking the forecast and I’m going to say the only snow we’ll see is some lake effect on the East Island (location totally random)

Update: Almost time to get up for work… lol… any commuters in Vancouver on here? Looks like the only moisture on the radar (darker blue) is headed straight for downtown Van… arriving by around 6AM.

We won’t get any snow on the Island until that flow reverses direction with the Arctic front and pushes moisture onto us from the Strait.

OK, now it’s raining hard… i’m just gonna shut up now and let the real forecasters do their job. :D