Conditions in B.C. finally start returning to normal after weeks of cold
An unusual lack of rain across B.C. so far this February will finally come to an end this weekend
Conditions across British Columbia have been anything but normal for the past few weeks. It’s been relatively dry so far this February—and what precipitation we did see fell as snow.
This is a sharp reversal of expectations for folks who live along the coast for the mild temperatures.
Conditions will gradually change this weekend as onshore flow develops and a more normal temperature pattern arrives into next week.
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How cold have things been across southwestern B.C. lately?
We saw the second-coldest first 12 days of February on record, coming in just behind the opening two weeks of February 1989. Three days saw temperatures remain below 0°C, tying for second place behind the all-time record of 5 subfreezing days all the way back in 1899.
The start of this weekend will remain chilly, with some low-elevation snow arriving for parts of Vancouver Island and the eastern Fraser Valley.
Once the onshore flow really develops, temperatures will slowly increase on Sunday to more normal daytime high temperatures for communities along the coast.
We’ll see on-and-off rain develop for Victoria and Vancouver beginning Saturday evening and into Sunday.
Looking ahead to next week, temperatures will continue to remain near seasonal for the middle of February. A bit more of an active pattern will develop and bring a few rounds of precipitation to the region.
The cold temperatures have pushed Vancouver into quite the rainfall deficit so far this February. An average month would see around 85 mm of rain at the airport—and we’ve only seen 1.5 mm so far this month, representing just a fraction of a per cent of normal.