Snow, strong winds heading our way
What do Arctic air, blowing snow and bitterly cold windchills have in common? Us. The Victoria-becomes-Edmonton forecast is calling for snow throughout today with the extra punch of strong, bitterly cold Arctic winds beginning this afternoon, Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald said.
“The Greater Victoria area will receive anywhere from two to five centimetres of snow but as you head inland, the amount of snow is going to increase pretty significantly. For example, the Malahat could see in excess of 10 centimetres.”
Environment Canada has issued a special weather warning for east Vancouver Island, from Duncan to Campbell River.
A second surge of Arctic air pushing down from northern B.C. will pick up moisture as it crosses the Strait of Georgia, creating snow squalls.
“That’s the area that has the greatest potential of perhaps exceeding 15 centimetres of snow or more. It will all depend on where these snow squalls set up. They tend to be very localized and pinpointing exactly where they will materialize is very challenging,” MacDonald said. “There’s a potential, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Greater Victoria and the southern Gulf Islands will experience damaging winds and bitterly cold windchills.
“The wind gusts could exceed 80 kilometres per hour,” MacDonald said.
“Because the snow will be light and fluffy, it will be blown around by that wind.
“So we can expect blowing snow and reduced visibility, particularly on the eastern side of the Island.”
MacDonald advised drivers to check Drive B.C. webcams and road conditions before heading out this afternoon.
“It could get quite hairy on the highway,” he said.
Tonight, the temperature is going to dip down to about -3 C, but with the windchill it will feel more like -10 C or -15 C, said MacDonald.
The winds will persist throughout the day on Saturday and finally begin to ease Sunday morning.
“And in the longer term, there’s no major change in sight. We’re into this cold snap right through the end of next week. As long as this cold air is in place, we have the potential for additional snow,” said MacDonald
There is a chance of flurries on Monday, but the brunt of snow is expected today through early Saturday morning, he said.
The weather is expected to be cold, but clear and dry for the rest of next week, he said.
“We’re lucky with this system. The heaviest amounts are going to be south of the border. There’s the potential for a really significant snowfall,” said MacDonald.
Cliff Mass, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, is predicting a major snow event for the U.S. Pacific Northwest, perhaps the snowiest period since the large snowfall of December 1996, he wrote.