Snow in the forecast for Metro Vancouver

Enjoy this last weekend of decent weather and rain before winter really arrives on the Lower Mainland, with the s-word being used in next week’s forecast.

“We’re seeing the last of the warm air for a while, seasonal or above, that comes to an end — it looks like through the weekend. Sunday heading into Monday, we’ll start to get some arctic air coming down from the north and that arctic air, it looks like, for all of next week. We even have a potential for a snowmaker coming in mid-week that could drop 5-plus centimetres across the area. Early projections, of course,” explains CityNews Meteorologist Michael Kuss.

Hint. pic.twitter.com/cZPYYfb8sY

— BC Transportation (@TranBC) November 23, 2022

He adds this blast of cold air is going to hang around for a little while.

“More of a winter-type pattern is setting up, not unlike what we had a few weeks ago where we saw some snow across the area and some snow at the higher elevations. The potential is there for snow all the way down to sea level in the middle of next week and daytime highs not punching much above the freezing level starting on Tuesday and it looks like lasting, at least, through next weekend.”

For the long-range forecast, Kuss can’t say if we’ll have snow on Christmas, which is exactly one month away.

“It’s far too early to say if we’re into the cold weather and it’s going to stick around for a month or all the way through the holidays or we’re talking about a white Christmas, but we will see that cooler air for at least seven to 10 days as we start pushing our way into December.”

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Snow has already been falling consistently on out-of-town highways, including the Coquihalla Highway. A reminder, you have to have winter tires to take those roads, otherwise, you risk being turned around or fined, with penalties starting at $121.

The provincial government says it’s ready for this winter with highway maintenance contractors out in full force.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says a focus this year will be wintry conditions on the Alex Fraser and Port Mann Bridges.

“Advanced weather data means crews are better prepared to deal with ice and snow and can activate the cable collar systems sooner in bad weather. Changing climate has resulted in more frequent instances of falling ice and snow from bridge cables. The Alex Fraser Bridge opened in 1986. Falling ice and snow was rare for the first 30 years of its operation. Over the past few years, however, it has become a more regular occurrence,” it says in a statement.

“In the years that cable collars have been used, they have been successful in removing most of the snow on the cables. However, some snow may be shed naturally from the cables as the weather warms or if it’s blown off by the wind.”

The province warns if conditions become too dangerous, drivers can expect a partial or full closure of either or both crossings.

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