Moisture-laden storm ushers in heavy rain, snow and freezing rain to B.C.
Parts of British Columbia will see a blast of wintry weather to begin the month of November
The start of November is ushering in a moisture-laden system for British Columbia, bringing plenty of rain and mountain snow, as well as a freezing rain threat for some.
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While this will not be deemed an atmospheric river this time around, the system will tap into some moisture from the subtropics and there will be areas that could pick up nearly 70 mm of rainfall with this event.
Thursday through Friday
The rain will be persistent through Thursday afternoon for coastal sections and Vancouver Island, bringing moderate rainfall to the region before easing on Friday.
Further inland, cooler temperatures will settle near the valley bottoms through Thursday morning, bringing along the risk of freezing rain for areas inland from the coast mountains and into the Interior.
Through Thursday afternoon, the freezing precipitation eases for the Okanogan and surrounding regions, though rain and snowfall persist.
The temperatures will be mild along the coastal sections, as freezing levels soar well above 2000 metres, keeping snowfall accumulations pretty low along the coastal mountain passes.
Some of the more eastern highway passes however, could see upwards to 15 cm of snow, creating hazardous driving conditions. Motorists are urged to plan ahead and to adjust to the changing conditions.
Many ski resorts across the province on the other hand are anxiously awaiting the arrival of fresh snow with opening days only weeks away for many locations.
This next round of snowfall will certainly help add to the mountain snowpack.
This weekend
Following closely behind is another Pacific system that will continue the wet November pattern through the weekend.
This time, an atmospheric river is forecast to impact Vancouver Island, with much heavier rainfall rates, intensity and winds. This will likely be classified as a category one or two atmospheric river, meaning it can bring some beneficial rains, but could also be hazardous with how much may fall.
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Across Vancouver Island, the coastal mountains and the Lower Mainland, heavy rainfall is expected through Saturday morning. The on and off heavy showers will persist for over 24 hours, with Sunday appearing quite soggy as well.
Between the soggy system Thursday and this weekend's additional rain, some areas are looking at between 75 to 100+ mm of rainfall into Sunday.
Winds off the coast of Vancouver Island, and north to Haida Gwaii, will likely exceed 70-90 km/h as the system approaches the shore late Friday night.
Mild Pacific air will continue to push out the cold, moving freezing precipitation and snowfall further into the Interior, east of Kamloops, Kelowna and Osoyoos.
Eagle Pass, Rogers Pass and Kootenay Pass will likely see accumulating snowfall through this weekend.
A few more rounds of rain are likely through Tuesday before a couple days of dry weather by mid-week. But the active pattern is expected to resume by the end of next week and into the weekend, as well.
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