Weekend sun good news for skiers — and everyone else
The reprieve from rain in Vancouver and snow in the Interior could last well into next week, with at least a little sun forecast for the next several days across the province.
Clear skies Friday night could turn to sun and clouds today with a high just above the freezing mark. Sunday could be grey, but no precipitation is expected across the province.
“A ridge of high pressure is building in for the majority of the province going into the weekend. It looks like dry conditions should prevail for most of the coast and the B. C. Interior,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Gary Dickinson.
January is typically a wet month on the south coast, but weeklong dry spells are not unusual, Dickinson said.
And while the past week brought snowfall warnings to Whistler, the Kootenays and Okanagan, no accumulation is expected in the coming week.
That’s good news for Whistler Blackcomb, said spokeswoman Lauren Everest. “We’re coming off a huge dump of snow,” she said. There were 50 centimetres between Monday and Wednesday “and we’re following it up with blue skies.”
With all that fresh powder, the avalanche risk in the backcountry remains considerable, but is expected to be downgraded to moderate over the weekend, she said.
There’s enough snow at Cypress Mountain ski resort to last through the dry spell, said spokesman Joffrey Koeman.
“Snow levels right now are the most we’ve ever seen,” he said. In the mid- mountain range, the snowpack is up to 389 centimetres, and the ski area has seen a spike in business. “People live for these days,” he said.