Predictions for cooler, wetter weather has positives and negatives for B.C.

You should be ready to bundle up against a blustery fall and winter, and maybe even keep some extra batteries and candles on hand.

There are predictions for colder and wetter weather in the months ahead if a La Niña weather pattern takes hold of B.C., which would be both a positive and a negative for the province.

“Potentially, we could be looking at greater-than-average flooding this winter if the La Niña conditions pan out,” said Sean Fleming, an atmospheric science professor at the University of British Columbia.

“That also means a greater water supply, greater snowpack in general and a greater water supply availably for next summer,” he told The Canadian Press.

That could ease B.C.’s prolonged drought conditions, which have caused wildfires to burn year-round, forced some communities to ration water supplies, and dangerously lowered water levels in rivers, impacting salmon runs.

But the potentially stormy weather, combined with some of the effects of drought, could also have an impact on the province’s power grid.

“While drought levels have improved compared to last year, there’s still that elevated risk of power outages in the event of a windstorm,” added BC Hydro spokesperson Susie Rieder.

“That’s especially true for places like Vancouver Island, which has been under more sustained dry conditions, and in Northern B.C. where we saw some of those major wildfires this season,” she told CP.

Rieder says the Lower Mainland and the southern Interior regions have seen less drought stress, but trees and other vegetation are still at elevated risk compared to a year with average precipitation.

La Niña is a cyclical climate pattern resulting from the flow of warmer water in the Pacific Ocean which typically brings lower temperatures and higher precipitation.

Early projections from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show a 71 per cent chance that La Niña will settle through the late fall and winter.

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