Snow already falling
Snow has been falling off and on since early this morning across the Island. There is a snowfall warning in effect for Inland and East Island locations.
The radar (which only shows up to about Parksville) shows snow falling across the South Island right now. However, even this is underestimating as it is currently snowing in Nanaimo as well.
10-15cm Possible Tonight
This is just a warm up for tonight. Starting around sundown, you can expect the snowfall rate to pick up as the next system moves onto the Island. The picture below is for the 4-7PM period.
This shows both widespread snow, especially at higher elevations. We will probably see a mix of snow, rain and sleet and maybe even some freezing rain in some areas. This will cause treacherous road conditions. Please consider not driving this evening.
There will also be wind associated with this weather.
By Saturday morning the snow and/or rain should have finished on most of the Island except the extreme southern end which might see snow continue until around noon on Saturday.
Sunny and Cold Weekend!
It is going to feel Very wintery once the clouds clear out. Expect lows down to minus 5 or 6 on Sunday and Monday mornings and highest of no more than +2ºC but we should also see some sun!
Enjoy the sun, and please stays safe. You can also check out the November and Fall 2022 Summary
About The Author
Comments
2 responses to “Snowfall Warning in Effect – More snow – Check out Fall Summary”
Hey Chris,
Even though I don’t live on the Island anymore I still follow the weather. Do you find the increase in snowfall is related to climate change or is there an actual increase.
Hi Tom! Sorry for the delay, I was sanding the floors in one of our bedrooms all weekend! 🙂
I don’t think there has been an increase in snowfall at all actually. I think what we are seeing is the short-term impact of La Niña, which has been in effect for most of the past 3 winters. It generally brings colder and drier air, and that’s when we’re most likely to get snow.
However, the long term trend that is more significant is the ‘raising of the floor’ of low temperatures and “raising the ceiling” of high temperatures. We’ve seen this since the 1970s and snowfall accumulations have steadily declined at sea level and mid-elevation as a result.
Precipiation has been very erratic. Very low this year. Very high last. And perhaps that is the ‘new normal’ at least for now until something else in the larger atmospheric system changes with the climate which we continue to influence at record levels.
A good time to remember that the impacts of climate change today are from CO2 that was pumped into the atmosphere in the 1970s and 1980s. We have a long way to go and still haven’t stopped adding to the problem today, which will be felt in 2050.