Snowstorm expected this weekend for Metro Vancouver

The arctic outflow that has been hovering over the South Coast of BC for the last two weeks will be leaving with one last hurrah, according to forecasters.

Environment Canada has issued a weather statement stating snowfall will return to Metro Vancouver beginning Saturday night and continue through late Sunday. A moisture-rich low pressure system from the Pacific will make landfall on Saturday night, interacting with the frigid temperatures to create snowfall.

Preliminary estimates peg snowfall accumulations at between 6 cm and 13 cm, with inland areas and higher terrain – areas away from the warming influence of the sea – receiving a greater accumulation.

However, it won’t last long and it could get messy quickly with low-lying areas seeing localized flooding from rapid snowmelt.

The Pacific front will also be followed by milder Pacific air that will turn the precipitation into rainfall starting Sunday night. Daytime temperatures will be considerably warmer throughout next week, reaching a high of 7°C beginning on Monday.

Temperatures will remain low enough in the eastern areas of the Fraser Valley and the Sea to Sky Corridor from Squamish to Whistler that snowfall may continue through Monday. There is also a risk of freezing rain for the Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, and the inland areas of Vancouver Island.

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