So doing my regular swipe through the forecast models today and I came across a beauty of a long range forecast.

Basically, our first few weeks of 2010 are going to be wet. And not just a little wet. If the forecast holds (and yes, that’s a big if right now) then between January 1 and January 14, we could see upwards of 400mm of rain.

That’s what the model is saying right now. Again. This could change, but it’s worth noting that there are “big” things being forecast all around North America right now. From a major New Years Eve blizzard in New England and New Brunswick, to a major cold snap afterwards across the continent… to.. yes.. our little neck of the woods. Where we have one mother of a week coming at us.

At this point it looks like there could be a good shot of wind as well with the system on the 8th-10th period. But again, it’s very far out, so too soon to say for sure.

So there’s you’re New Years heads up. Get ready for at least a little rain… and possibly… as much as we had in November. No small feat.

Hi everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Well, not a whiff of snow around here. But hey, at least we don’t have a blizzard like most of the US. It’s going to stay pretty much as it has been the past week. I think the weather is taking a holiday too. Nothing really exciting happening though there is a chance for some precipitation next week.

Looks like our next chance for excitement will be the week we go back to work/school. The computer model gives us 200mm of rain through 3 storms between the 6th and 11th of January. We’ll see how much of that comes to fruition.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and got all they wanted yesterday.

5 days left until the most important day of the year! And that goes for the Weather too!

As I’m typing this, the sun is actually starting to poke through the morning clouds. Somewhere, there is a rainbow in our fair little Valley, and it’s not even 9:30AM! An auspicious start surely… and a sign of things to come.

After we get through our rain showers today we should clear up a bit and get a little colder thanks to high pressure building in. It won’t be as cold as earlier in the month, but below or near zero just the same.

According to the latest computer model, that high pressure is supposed to peak on the 23rd, and on Christmas Eve Day the high starts to break down and yes… there might be a little bit of moisture along with that break down (maybe a cold front coming down from the north).

Doesn’t look like there are any big frontal systems slated to come through, so rain, or large dumps of snow look unlikely in the next week. But there is a possibility for a nice light dusting. This is good!

So… I think it could happen… lets give it a 40% chance of a dusting on Christmas Eve, just in time for Santa and his reindeer and Christmas Morning!

So you might be wondering what the Christmas forecast is? Well… it’s still a ways out there… but you might just be looking at it right now.

That’s right. A little bit of wind, a bunch of wet..and lots of green.

It’s not all bad news though, there is start amongst the weather blogs that another big Arctic high is supposed to build into our area again and drop the temperature down sometime in the next week or so. Will it be in time to turn one of those Pacific fronts into a White Christmas? Hard to say for now… but the possibility is there.

Hope everyone got a chance to enjoy the snow a little bit.

Update 2: The Snowfall Warning has now ended. I’ll have a new post up tomorrow.

UPDATE:
We have a Winner! Zsolt Hengsperger! The Winner has Won a Fabulous NOMA LED Flashlight! Could the winner please email me at chrisale at gmail dot com and we can set up a time for him to come pick up his prize! Congratulations!! And thank you everyone for playing!!

OK. So we’ve been teased for the past week… I’ve never seen forecasts so variable and unreliable right up to the day of.

But now, it seems… they’re getting serious. They’re talking about a Winter Storm. Those are not words they use often around here. It basically means wind, and snow… lots of both.

Batten down the hatches folks, get out the snow shovels and make sure you have your chains ready. Even though the forecast has been so weird… they seem pretty serious this time, and last I checked, there were snowflakes in the air outside.

Here’s the SnowFall Warning:

Start Quote:

A major winter storm with heavy snow expected for the south coast beginning later today with 10 to 20 cm snowfall accumulation by Tuesday.

This is a warning that significant snowfall is expected or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.

A strong Arctic ridge of high pressure over the British Columbia interior will continue to bring cold dry Arctic air across the north and central coast regions. Strong outflow winds through the inlets and valleys will combine with cold temperatures to give wind chill values of minus 20 or below to the north and central coasts tonight into Tuesday.

A moist frontal system arriving from the pacific will mix with the Arctic air over the south coast giving snow at times heavy over parts of Vancouver Island late this afternoon and then spread to the Lower Mainland early this evening. Total snowfall amounts of 10 to 20 centimetres are expected before the snow changes to rain on Tuesday. Freezing rain will begin during the transition to rain particularly over the Lower Fraser Valley and eastern sections of metro Vancouver. The freezing rain will end over eastern sections of metro Vancouver Tuesday morning and over the Fraser Valley in the afternoon. Strong easterly winds 50 to 70 km/h will also develop this evening over West Vancouver Island ahead of the frontal system and then ease overnight.