Mountain Weather Forecast

The big bad arctic front is on its way. For now, we have a ridge of high pressure over the Pacific waters keeping majority of BC cool and dry. Stratiform cloud stretching from Mcbride down to Cranbrook and as far west as the Okanagan will keep conditions from warming significantly over the day. Further north, the arctic front will sit over the Yukon - BC border and we await for an upper low to hover over northwestern Alberta. Once it does (this afternoon), the front will begin its onward march toward southern BC. In the wake of the arctic front, periods of snow will exist, which will be slightly enhanced due to the presence of cool air over the interior and antecedent moisture in the low-lying regions.

Come Saturday, the front will slide over Chilcotin- Revelstoke where a brief but intense period of snowfall will fall before quickly continuing its southward progression. In behind the front, northeasterly winds will develop where the North Rockies and NW Coastal ranges can expect at least moderate ridgetop winds. Additionally, arctic outflows through valleys and inlets around Terrace will develop and persist into next week.

Further south a coastal low will crash with the arctic front over the Lower Mainland, this will result in a winter mix before conditions become outflow-dominant (strong winds) Saturday night. As we progress into the later stages of the weekend, BC will be left with very cold temperatures and strong wind chill values. Princeton up to Prince George can see temperatures -10 to -20 degrees celcius below seasonal and -5 to -15 degrees celcius from Cranbrook to Revelstoke. This very cold airmass will persist through to Thursday night with coldest temperatures anticipated Tuesday-Thursday. Very cold temperatures alongside gusty winds will produce wind chill making it feel even colder.

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The 500 mb animation shows an upper ridge of high pressure over the Pacific Ocean alongside an upper low forming over northeastern BC sometime this afternoon. As the upper low begins to establish its position over the elbow between AB and BC, purple dashed thickness lines (associated with arctic air) will descend from Yukon and Northwest Territories. The leading edge of arctic air will be accompanied by cloud cover and snow, with additional concerns for strong outflow winds along the coasts. Due to this system's broad nature and strength, the upper ridge over the Pacific will flatten and retrograde southwards.

Come Sunday, precipitation will be tied to regions along the US border, before tapering off over the day where once again the entire province will be engulfed in frigid and dangerously low temperatures. There are indications that zonal (west-east) flow aloft over the southern third of BC will develop which could result in a snowstorm over the Lower Mainland from Monday night into Tuesday. Confidence is shaky with this solution (for more information read Day 3).