Atmospheric river to bring heavy rain and stormy conditions to Metro Vancouver this weekend
While spring has officially sprung, Metro Vancouver is in for a very wet weekend as an atmospheric river will impact the region.
According to Environment and Climate Change (ECCC) meteorologist Colin Fong, the heavy rainfall is expected to start Saturday night and continue through Sunday.
“[It’s an] atmospheric river, but the caveat is that it’s a fairly weak one and it’ll be more brief than what we typically would see with an atmospheric river,” he told Daily Hive.
“We’re looking at a pretty solid, at least 24-hour period, of some heavy rain.”
Fong noted that Saturday should remain fairly clear throughout the day with “calm” conditions.
ECCC
He added that warmer air typically accompanies atmospheric rivers, meaning that on Sunday, snow falling on the mountains is expected to transition to heavy rain.
Looking ahead to next week, Fong explained that a ridge of high pressure building from the south would push up into B.C., bringing more warm air with it, meaning temperatures would rise.
“It will continue to build on Tuesday and peak on Wednesday … and right now, we’re looking at temperatures perhaps reaching as high as 15°C on Wednesday,” he said.
“So that’s going to be our first real taste of spring next week, but it’ll be brief … because that ridge of high pressure will break down as early as Wednesday night.”
Currently, ECCC’s forecast for Wednesday predicts showers, but fingers crossed things will clear up for folks to enjoy the first warm day of spring.