Update 10:30AM – Warnings ended. Rain is here.
Expect this rain to continue most of today and tomorrow. We should see temperatures over 5°C before nightfall Saturday.
Update 7:30AM
Rain has begun in areas… significant snowfall at higher elevations around Port Alberni like the lake and south end.
Update 7AM – Warnings updated.
Here is the latest update from EC:
Issued at 2020-01-18 13:32 UTC by Environment Canada:
Winter storm warning continued for:
East Vancouver Island, B.C. (081300)
Inland Vancouver Island, B.C. (081500)
Current details:
Hazardous winter conditions are expected.
The winter storm is almost over. Heavy wet snow occurring over a few inland locations will switch to rain early this morning. There is also the risk of freezing rain for Inland Vancouver Island.
Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve. Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions.
Winter storm warnings are issued when multiple types of severe winter weather are expected to occur together.
Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to BCstorm@canada.ca or tweet reports using #BCStorm.
Update 5AM Saturday
Snowing hard out there. Wind warning ended for West VI but Winter Storm warnings continue elsewhere.
Update 10:30PM – High Winds Timing
Looking at the latest model updates. The highest winds should start to impact the Island after 10PM tonight and last until around 7AM Saturday morning. That should be the time that we warm to over 5ºC and the major melt happens as well. Blustery and windy conditions will continue through the late morning. Stay safe out there, curl up in bed if you can and stay warm. 🙂
Original Warnings
Environment Canada has issued a Winter Storm warning (this happens when a wind and snow and/or freezing rain warnings combine).
I will reproduce the text of the warnings below as they are the same for East and Inland Vancouver Island. The west coast has a wind warning. Snow up to 20cm, wind up to 80kph and freezing rain is forecast.
I will update this post as the weather begins to impact. You should avoid all travel later tonight and into Saturday morning especially with both Freezing Rain and heavy Snow in the forecast. You can see this morning’s post for timing details.
4:37 PM PST Friday 17 January 2020
Winter storm warning in effect for:
- Inland Vancouver Island
Hazardous winter conditions are expected.
A strong Pacific storm arrives tonight with a mix of wintery weather including snow, freezing rain, and blowing snow.
The storm will arrive tonight with snow beginning this evening across East and Central Vancouver Island. Total snowfall of 10 to 20 cm is expected by Saturday morning.
Strong winds will also accompany the storm. As a result blowing snow is expected overnight tonight and early Saturday morning.
As warmer air associated with storm penetrates the region, the snow will likely transition to freezing rain over central Vancouver Island overnight tonight.
A complete change over to rain is expected by Saturday morning for all regions.
Timing this transition from snow to freezing rain is always challenging in these situations. There is a chance that this transition could be delayed resulting in higher snowfall amounts.
Stay tuned to the latest Environment and Climate Change Canada for all the latest warnings and forecasts.
Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve. Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions.
Winter storm warnings are issued when multiple types of severe winter weather are expected to occur together.
Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to BCstorm@canada.ca or tweet reports using #BCStorm.
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