The snow across Vancouver Island is ending this morning with clearing skies. Strong outflow winds prevail across all coastal inlets and valleys from Stewart to the Fraser Valley today.

The influence of the upper ridge will begin over the NW Coastal ranges with temperatures around 5°C higher than Friday. An above freezing layer around 1500 metres may develop.

Light snow continues for mountain ranges south of Revelstoke and east of the Okanagan Valley today.

Strong westerly ridgetop winds near 60 km/h across the North Rockies will ease to 30 to 40 km/h this morning. Moderate southwest winds of 40 km/h across the K-B, southern Purcells and Lizard range will ease to light today.

A mostly cloudy day is forecast with no precipitation. Northwesterly winds will weaken below 20 km/h by noon. The ridge will create a temperature inversion with alpine temperatures rising peaking just below zero but remaining cooler at lower levels.

A surface ridge of high pressure will dominate British Columbia (BC) and the Alberta Rockies. Snow will end and clouds will gradually clear in Waterton Lakes National Park  (WLNP) in the morning with trace amounts. Mainly sunny skies elsewhere.

 Northwest ridgetop winds will be strong over the entire range in the morning at around west-northwest 50-60 km/h and ease to northwest 30-40 km/h by the afternoon, except in WLNP where the winds will remain strong all day. Gap winds with gusts up to 50 km/h are possible across much of the foothills.  Alpine temperatures will peak at around -10⁰C to -15⁰C from Kakwa to Kananaskis Country (KC) and between -5⁰C to -10⁰C further south.

Sunny skies are forecast this afternoon across coastal ranges. Strong outflow winds remain in place from Stewart to the Fraser Valley.

Light snow ends this afternoon with clearing skies across the K-B, Purcells and Lizard ranges. Areas between the Monashees and the Coast Mountains will remain under cloud cover.

Watch for valley cloud or fog patches to develop tonight across valleys under clear skies in the Kootenays.

Partly cloudy skies to start and then increasing cloud late overnight. Light, generally northerly, winds blow across the ridgetops overnight. The temperature inversion will persist with temperatures dropping to about minus 3°C overnight and cooler at lower levels. 

Our persisting surface ridge will keep skies mostly clear over the entire Rockies. A cold front associated with a low pressure system over the Northwest Territories will bring increasing cloudiness to Kakwa by Sunday morning. Northwest ridgetop winds of 50-60 km/h in WLNP will weaken to 30-40 km/h early in the evening like the rest of the range. Alpine temperatures will dip to -15⁰C to -20⁰C  from Kakwa to South Rockies, staying slightly warmer at -10⁰C in WLNP.

Sunny and clear skies are anticipated on Sunday morning across coastal ranges. The strong outflow winds will continue to prevail across all coastal inlets and valleys from Stewart to the Fraser Valley on Sunday. Warmer air aloft over the Gulf of Alaska will create an above freezing layer (AFL) over all the coastal ranges on Sunday morning between 1000 and 2000 metres.

Clear and cold across the interior on Sunday morning. Freezing levels at valley bottom.

Mainly cloudy conditions are expected with a small chance of light snow. Reduced visibility is possible cloud. Winds will remain light northerly at the ridgetops. The temperature inversion also remains with temperatures relatively steady just below zero but cooler at lower elevations.  

A cold front associated with a low pressure system moving southwards through the Prairies will bring increasing clouds and snow to the eastern slopes of the Rockies with trace accumulations. Snow will begin in Kakwa early in the morning and in Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) by late afternoon. Ridgetop winds will be northwest 30-40 km/h for most of the range, weakening to 10-20 km/h in Banff National Park (BNP) and south. Alpine temperatures will warm up to -5⁰C to -10⁰C.

Sunny and cold across the interior on Sunday afternoon  The above freezing layer (AFL) over the coastal ranges between 1000 and 2000 metres will persist in the afternoon.

Sunny and cold across most of the interior ranges on Sunday afternoon. There is a chance of flurries for northeastern BC. The freezing levels will remain at valley bottom in the afternoon.

Mainly cloudy to start and then clear breaks overnight. Ridgetop winds will be light northwesterlies. The temperature inversion will persist and temperatures remains relatively steady just below zero but cooler at lower elevations.  

As the cold front moves southeastward and a surface ridge of high pressure moves in from British Columbia (BC), clouds will gradually clear from Kakwa in the evening to BNP by early morning. Snow-to-liquid ratios will be around 20:1, but only trace amounts of snow are expected. Ridgetop winds will remain northwest at 30-40 km/h for Kakwa and Jasper National Park (JNP). Winds will be northwest at 10-20 km/h for the rest of the range. Alpine temperatures will cool down to around -15⁰C to -20⁰C.

Sunny and clear skies for Monday across coastal ranges. The strong outflow winds will begin to weaken on Monday. 

On Tuesday, an approaching Pacific front will bring a chance of flurries to the coastal ranges.

Sunny and cold across the interior ranges on Monday.

As an arctic ridge of high pressure moves into Alberta from the Northwest Territories, it will develop an area of cloud and upslope light snow across the North Rockies Monday night. There may be some spillover into the Cariboo Mountains. Accumulations across the eastern slopes will be light, in the 1 to 5 cm range.

On Tuesday, an upper trough will maintain flurry activity over the interior ranges.

The ridge weakens on Monday but remains over the area. On Monday, anticipate light winds and a mix of sun and cloud. A temperature inversion will persist and alpine temperatures may reach 0°C. 

The ridge weakens on Tuesday and a weakening front will arrive bringing cloud and light amounts of snow. Alpine temperatures will drop as the inversion is eroded by strengthening southwesterly winds.

On Monday, a ridge of high pressure will persist over British Columbia (BC). Clouds will gradually clear in Banff National Park (BNP) in the morning and Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) by the evening. Later in the evening, a surface low pressure system will form over southern Alberta, bringing another round of clouds and flurries from Kakwa to Kananaskis Country (KC) along a cold front. Trace accumulations are expected. Light to moderate northwest winds north of Highwood Pass, becoming strong further south. Alpine temperatures will remain somewhat cold across the range for the next couple of days.

 On Tuesday, the cold front will move southeast and out of Alberta. A ridge of surface high pressure will build back in, with remaining clouds clearing across the range. A surface trough of low pressure will later form over the Rockies, leading to increasing cloudiness over Kakwa and Jasper National Park (JNP) in the evening with flurries and trace amounts of snow. Light to moderate west winds are expected in BNP and north. In KC and South Rockies, winds will remain strong from the northwest. WLNP could see extreme northwest winds.

The Arctic Ridge of High Pressure

Louis

The low that brought snow to the Vancouver Island ranges as well as the mainland coastal mountain peaks last night has moved south and as a result the precipitation is ending this morning.

In the wake of the low, an arctic ridge of high pressure will become the main attraction through the weekend with cold temperatures, coastal outflow winds and light upslope snow for the Alberta Rockies. The cold temperatures will moderate next week for most ranges.

An upper low west of the Oregon Coast this morning will slowly move southward today. As the upper low sinks south, an upper ridge of high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska ushers in clear skies and cold temperatures. With a large upper low over western Hudson Bay and this upper ridge over the Gulf of Alaska, the upper flow over the province and territory will be predominantly northwesterly through the period.