Snow could extend its winter claws to Metro Vancouver by Thursday
Credit to Author: Kevin Griffin| Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2020 23:45:23 +0000
Snow is a distinct possibility for Metro Vancouver sometime late Thursday. But not even a seasoned meteorologist can say for certain how much will fall and where.
“I should emphasize that forecasting snow in the Lower Mainland is one of the trickiest forecasts we issue,” said Matt MacDonald, warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. “There are so many variables to take into account.”
In addition to variables such as elevation and distance from the ocean, one necessary variable that will be in place is colder air. By Thursday, he said, much colder and drier air is forecast to move to the South Coast.
“Right now,” he said Tuesday, “our thinking is that the snow is probably going to start late Thursday evening. Initially, there is a pretty good chance for snow to accumulate. As temperatures rise on Friday, that snow is likely to transition to rain. The big question is: How long will it snow before it changes to rain?”
He said the weather models are consistent in showing a low-pressure system sliding down the coast from the northwest.
“That’s a pretty classic pattern for low-elevation snow for the South Coast,” MacDonald said.
So how much snow will fall?
“That’s the million-dollar question,” he said. “It could be a trace to a few centimetres just as it could be five to 10 centimetres.”
On its website, Environment Canada is forecasting rain showers or snow flurries from Thursday to Sunday, with temperatures dropping at night from two to minus-one C.
Expect big changes next week.
MacDonald said forecasters are confident we’re in for our first cold snap of the season. Temperatures are likely to be five to 10 degrees below seasonal averages, which translates into daytime highs struggling to reach freezing and overnight lows of minus five to minus seven.
“It’s our first Arctic outbreak of the season — which is a little later than usual,” he said. “It’s a good reminder for people to get those snow shovels handy for later this week and get the puffy jackets out for next week.”
Erin Watts, manager of street operations in Vancouver, said the city is expecting a combination of rain and snow flurries but nothing extreme like what often happens in the Fraser Valley.
“If it’s snowing in Abbotsford, Vancouver might have more of a rain-snow mix or no snow at all,” she said. “That’s really typical.”
She said the city will likely start spraying a brine mixture of salt and water on arterial streets, bus routes, bridges and hills when there’s a break in the rain Wednesday. Once snow falls, the city starts salting.
Watts reminded residents and business owners that they’re responsible for clearing sidewalks around their property by 10 a.m. after a snowfall.
On Highway 1 (the Trans Canada), Hwy. 99 and other Class A-numbered highways, the road surface has to be returned to bare pavement within 24 hours (previously 48 hours) of a winter storm when it’s warmer than minus nine, the Ministry of Transportation and Highways said in a statement.
A new provincial maintenance contract increases the patrol frequency on Class A highways such as the Sea to Sky to 90 minutes from four hours during a snowstorm.