B.C. finally sees some rain, mountain passes get first shots of snow
British Columbia is finally getting the rain it needs after months of drought, while the mountain passes deal with more snowfall this weekend. The stormy weather is expected to last through next week for many folks.
B.C. is in the midst of a pattern change, welcome news for some areas and not so much for others if you are doing some travelling through them this weekend.
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The season’s first snowfall has made its way across British Columbia’s mountain passes and the South Coast is finally getting some much-needed rainfall as a parade of storms rolls across Western Canada.
The storms will wash over B.C. one after the other this weekend and stretching into next week. Each one will bring the potential for heavy rainfall and even high-elevation snow across the province.
Following the first snowfall of the season for the mountain passes, the next significant system arrives for the B.C. coast late-day Sunday, continuing through the overnight hours into Monday. This wave will bring periods of heavy rain to Vancouver Island and the South Coast, as well as alpine snow.
We could see 5-10 cm of snow across most of B.C.’s mountain passes through Sunday, which could hamper travel throughout the region.
Don’t forget that winter tires are required by law across most of B.C. until April 30.
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Folks across the South Coast and Vancouver Island recently jumped into Level 5 drought conditions, the worst category on the B.C. Government’s scale measuring the intensity of prolonged dryness across the province.
Due to an extremely active pattern forming across Western Canada, several rounds of moisture will be tracking onshore. Over the next seven days, some areas along the coast may receive in excess of 75-100 mm of rain.
While any amount of rain will certainly help the drought situation, too much of a good thing can have detrimental effects. Water doesn’t absorb into parched soil very well, so the impending round of storms—and their associated heavy rainfall—could lead to localized flooding concerns.
Check back frequently as we head into the weekend as our team continues to monitor the track of the storms as they approach British Columbia, and where the bulk of the heavy rain and snow will fall.