Thunder risk as 75-100 mm of rain heads to B.C. into this week
B.C. bids adieu to the recent tranquility as a parade of systems will march onto the coast with upwards of 100 mm of rainfall and 50-75 cm of alpine snowfall for some locales into this week
A warm start to the weekend in B.C. led to several locales recording temperatures above the 20-degree mark, but the focus of the story now shifts to a considerable dose of rainfall and alpine snow expected into this week.
Multiple rounds of precipitation will bring widespread totals of 50-100 mm of rain across southwestern portions of the province. Meanwhile, some of the higher elevations could see 30-75 cm of snowfall.
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While none of the inbound systems are expected to be major, the parade of lows will bring above-normal precipitation totals to the South Coast region for the next couple of weeks.
Mild conditions for the Interior, but rain makes a comeback
Saturday yielded a balmy temperature in Lytton, B.C, which soared to more than 23°C. More than a dozen weather stations, meanwhile, recorded temperatures warmer than 20°C.
The active pattern that arrived Sunday will hold on for several days this week.
Expect a parade of storms with persistent rains across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Each individual wave of rain won’t be noteworthy on its own, but the cumulative rain from each event will add up by this week. A risk for thunder will build into the Interior during the afternoon hours on Tuesday.
Rainfall totals on the order of 50-100 mm are possible for Tofino and the North Shore Mountains. Alpine areas above 1200 m could see 30-50 cm of snow, while locations above 1800 m could see 50-75 cm of snowfall. Beware the risk for an unstable snowpack throughout the region.
All the rain of late isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Rain in the spring is usually good news heading into the upcoming wildfire season.
It isn't just an abundant amount of rainfall the South Coast has seen lately. The alpine areas have seen a notable increase in snowpack.
Between March 15 and April 1, significant snowpack growth occurred in:
Lower Fraser: +17 percentage points
South Coast: +12 percentage points
Vancouver Island: +9 percentage points
No major storms are expected in the longer term, but a series of systems will bring above-normal precipitation totals to the south region for the next couple of weeks.
Changeable temperatures are expected over the next two weeks with a few warmer days, but overall, temperatures will end up on the chilly side of seasonal except for northeastern B.C.