An active pattern draped across the West Coast isn’t in any hurry to move out of the region.
A system pushing into British Columbia will kick off the weekend with widespread rain, mountain snows, and locally gusty winds that could lead to some ferry delays.
Stay up-to-date on weather alerts and watch out for rapidly changing conditions if you’re heading out Friday or Saturday, especially across the mountain passes. Check highway conditions before you leave.
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Precipitation that swung into B.C. through the day Friday became widespread through the evening hours.
Freezing levels hovering around 1000 metres will bring ample snows to the mountains and highway passes. This should also allow some accumulating snow to fall for the Interior valleys.
Expect precipitation to begin into Saturday before the storm gradually winds down.
We’ll see 30-50 mm of rain in the gauges across Metro Vancouver by Saturday, with the highest totals possible around Abbotsford. Totals in Victoria should come in lower than 20 mm thanks to the rain-shadow effect.
Meanwhile, the Allison Pass and Coquihalla Pass are in for an additional 10-20 cm of snow by the end of this event. Folks travelling along the Sea-to-Sky may contend with 10-15 cm of snow from this system.
Expect significant delays and potential road closures as a result of the ample snows headed for this region into the first half of the weekend.
While the winds aren’t the headline with this storm, southeasterly wind gusts of 40-60 km/h blowing up the Georgia Strait will shift toward the Lower Mainland through the day, potentially affecting ferry service later on Saturday.
Stay with The Weather Network for more forecast information and updates on your weather in B.C.