Snowfall in the forecast for parts of Metro Vancouver tonight

Old Man Winter appears to be readying a dusting of snow for parts of the Lower Mainland a day after Christmas.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement indicating higher elevations of Metro Vancouver and portions of the Fraser Valley are likely to receive some accumulations of snow Thursday night.

According to the federal meteorological agency’s bulletin issued at 7:58 am Thursday, a front moving southward along the BC coast will meet a cool airmass over the region early this evening.

Precipitation will initially begin as a mix of snow and rain, eventually transitioning to snowfall with accumulations of between 2 cm and 4 cm in Metro Vancouver’s higher elevations and up to 5 cm in the Fraser Valley.

The precipitation over Metro Vancouver near midnight will transition to rainfall, while the Fraser Valley could see snowfall continue until Friday morning.

Low-lying coastal areas in the region may not see any snow given the warming influence of sea waters.

Within the city of Vancouver, any accumulation is unlikely to remain on the ground for long, with the forecast calling for a temperature high of up to 6°C and rainfall for both Friday and Saturday.