Regular updates are back! Thunder in the Valley Forecast! Good Saturday, Iffy Sunday!

While I got home from vacation last Tuesday, this is the first day I am back on the bus ? to work! So that means I have my normal time slot for Alberniweather blogging back! 🙂

For better or worse, the weather has not changed much since last week mainly due to the strong ridge of high pressure keeping it clear, and the smoke keeping temperatures down quite a few degrees below what they otherwise would have been depending where you were in the Valley and how much smoke there was.

That said, after a few more days of sun and smoke, change is coming, and it is bad news for Thunder in the Valley last day and the Five Acre Shaker late Saturday and early Sunday.

Saturday Clouds but should stay Dry

The change in weather will actually begin Friday night and Saturday morning as prevailing northwesterly winds supporting the ridge of high pressure switch over to SouthWesterly.

You can see that switch happening off the coast on the Friday 8PM map below.

We should start to feel that change in wind pattern by around 11AM Saturday morning as a front hits Haida Gwaii but no precipitation on the Island yet.

The front will gradually impact the rest of the Central and South Coast of BC through Saturday evening but we should not feel anything in Port Alberni on Saturday, so that is good news for Thunder in the Valley.  The picture below is for 5-8PM Saturday. The rain has come to northern Vancouver Island but is still well away from the Central Island. Lets hope that that timing holds.

The challenge will come on Sunday.  Here is the 8AM-11AM forecast:

We should expect up to 8mm of rain in Port Alberni. Which would be more than enough to stop the races and put a damper on the final day of the Five Acre Shaker at McLean Mill.

The rain is supposed to stop by 11AM or 12PM on Sunday:

But it won’t be terribly warm so there will be a need for active drying of the Thunder in the Valley track in order to get racing going.

The temperature forecast for that same 11AM-2PM period is between 20-22ºC and partly cloudy.

About The Author