Minor precipitation Thursday Night – Prepare for Cold on the Weekend
Special Weather Statement Issued.
Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather statement for most of the Island. Below is the main parts:
A cold spell is in the forecast for most of B.C.
https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?bc45
Arctic air will invade B.C. beginning overnight Friday, with a major shift in temperature from our mild January.
Temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees below normal over the South Coast.
Northern B.C. coastal areas will also see a rapid drop in temperatures, from above to below normal.
Gusty winds will accompany the arrival of the cold air, and the wind chill will make it feel even colder.
A few days of outflow winds is expected through coastal valleys of the North and Central Coast (including Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, and Bella Coola) beginning Saturday morning.
Outflow winds will spread to the Sea to Sky and Fraser Valley Saturday night.
Temperatures are expected to gradually rise late next week, in early February. However, there remains significant uncertainty on the timing of a return to seasonal temperatures.
Expect Island cold Saturday night
As it mentions above, the cold outflow winds will start up on Saturday and last into Saturday night. That bring temperatures to around -5ºC or possibly lower Sunday morning.
We should have clear skies for much of the weekend but the wind might feel pretty bitter!
Thursday night showers
The system moving down the Island on Thursday is going to be weaker than initially thought. It will only produce light rain or maybe some sleet overnight but it should be cleared away by Friday morning.
Monday night and Tuesday morning snow?
Looks like a possibility for precipitation on Monday/Tuesday as another system moves down the Island overnight and might provide some snow on Tuesday.
It doesn’t look very vigorous and may amount to nothing which is also what Environment Canada seems to be leaning towards as well.
Possible warm up/AR next weekend
In the super long range, the model expects a warmup by next weekend. We could see rain by this time next week and then a small atmospheric river event for next weekend. That’s far out there though, so standard caveats apply.
Happy Thursday!
About The Author
