VANCOUVER – Snow is likely for most of B.C. this weekend as the first major winter storm of 2015 rolls in.
Most of the province has been put under a winter storm watch as the Arctic air that brought sunny conditions to Southern B.C. and other areas, is still lingering with a weak low pressure system.
Many areas saw light flurries on Friday morning and higher terrains could see up to 2 cm on the ground, but it will change to rain later. There is still a slight risk of freezing rain as sub-zero temperatures remain trapped in the valleys.
WATCH: Woman narrowly avoids getting struck by truck in Mission, due to snowy conditions:
Light snowfall has already caused problems for some drivers. A woman narrowly avoided being hit by another vehicle in an incident on Dewdney Rd. near the boundary between Mission and Maple Ridge.
In Maple Ridge, there has been snowfall, but no reports of major problems with roadways as of Saturday morning, according to Walter Oleschak, Superintendent of Roads and Fleet with the District of Maple Ridge.
On Saturday, a strengthening high pressure system over the Yukon will deepen the Arctic air in Northern B.C., then push another dose of the frigid air south and west through the B.C. Interior.
By Saturday morning, dense and bone-chilling Arctic air will be felt by residents along the inlets and valleys of the North Coast. Simultaneously, a Pacific warm front packing plenty of moisture, a warm layer of air and correspondingly high freezing levels, will slowly smother the North Coast, blanketing the South Coast Saturday night.
This combination will create what Environment Canada calls “a montage of rapidly changing winter conditions that will eventually have planners, road crews, and the public from Stewart to Hope scrambling to avoid, mitigate and otherwise work around the weather.”
Residents of the North and Central coasts will see the first few flakes of snow Saturday, but strong outflowing air will delay significant accumulations of snow until Sunday when the warm and wet Pacific air will overwhelm the dry.
For residents of the South Coast, the snow will not start to fall until Saturday night. Near the coastline, snow or mixed rain and snow will develop late in the evening. The precipitation will then spread inland where snow will fall through the night. Eventually, the warmer air will move in, which will create freezing rain where sub-freezing air remains trapped in the valleys and inlets. In Vancouver and Abbotsford, accumulations will likely only occur at higher elevations prior to a rapid change-over to rain.
As more Pacific air floods onto the coast Sunday, snowfalls will be heavy in some inland regions and freezing rain will create locally treacherous travel conditions.
Keep an eye on the weather report as our experts track this storm through the weekend.
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