Weather Notification: Significant Snow, Wind, Blowing Snow & Cold

Issued: February 9th, 2021 at 15:30 PST

Weather Event Impacts:

·       Health concerns for the most vulnerable population, due to colder than seasonal weather

·       Freezing pipes and other impacts to infrastructure

·       Power outages possible due to winds and accumulating snow

·       Challenging travel conditions due to snow, and possible blowing snow & freezing rain

·       Increasing avalanche hazard

·       Due to the mild first half of winter and late season arrival of first arctic air, public may be underprepared for sudden change to wintery weather conditions

Timing:

·       Cold event: Tuesday February 9th to Saturday February 13th

·       Wind event: Tuesday February 9th for North and Central Coast spreading to South Coast Wednesday February 10th. Continuing through this weekend. 

·       Coastal Snow event: Friday night February 12th to Monday February 15th  

Key Points:

·       Modified arctic air continues to deepen over coastal BC, priming communities for low elevation snow

·       Coldest temperatures will be Wednesday – Friday with temperatures 5°C to 10 °C below normal

·       High pressure over the BC interior will promote moderate to strong northeasterly outflow winds through mainland fjords and impact portions of Vancouver Island

·       Low temperatures plus wind will produce wind chill values of -10 to -20

·       Periods of light snow Wednesday for South Coast. Chance of snow for southern Vancouver Island Thursday

·       Significant snowfall event likely begins Friday night for entire coastline and continues Saturday

·       Strongest winds, and highest potential for localized blowing snow Friday night – Saturday night for mainland fjords, the Gulf Islands, Victoria, and west coast Vancouver Island

·       The final weather system in this series arrives late this weekend and will likely bring warming temperatures and a messy transition from snow to rain in low-lying areas. Freezing rain is possible during that transition, particularly for inland Vancouver Island valleys, eastern Fraser Valley and Howe Sound

·       Outlook: A gradual return to near-seasonal temperatures will begin February 16. Weather pattern likely to remain active.

Forecast Certainty:

Moderate – regarding the longevity and severity of below seasonal temperatures.

Moderate – Moderate to strong northeasterly outflow winds persist through mainland fjords this week. Transitioning to strong to very strong southeasterly winds associated with the Friday/weekend systems

Low - the amount of snowfall accumulation is uncertain, as is the eventual transition to rain or mix of rain and snow.

For updates, please monitor upcoming weather forecast and possible warnings: 

Weather Warnings: www.weather.gc.ca/warnings/index_e.html?prov=bc    

ECCC Daily Weather Blog: www.avalanche.ca/weather 

Drive BC Road Conditions: www.drivebc.ca

BCHydro Power Outages: www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/power-outages.html