British Columbia Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest British Columbia Daily Snow

By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago February 4, 2023

Snow continues Saturday-Sunday, strong storm Monday-Wednesday

Summary

Snow showers will continue across Southern BC this weekend with light to moderate snow totals adding up. A stronger storm will then impact Southern BC from Monday to Wednesday with deep totals expected across both the Coast Range and the Interior. Northern BC will continue to see the snow stack up this weekend as well, then will be right on the northern fringe of the Mon-Wed storm.

Short Term Forecast

Preliminary Snow Totals:

Powder King has been slammed over the past 2 days with a 48-hour snow total of 112 cm (45")! Four-day totals at Powder King have now reached 144 cm (58). Shames Mountain has also done well while most of Southern BC has seen only light to moderate snow totals since Thursday.

Here are the latest 48-hour totals as of early Saturday morning:

  • 112 cm (45") - Powder King
  • 25 cm (10") - Shames Mountain
  • 23 cm (9") - Mt. Washington
  • 17 cm (7") - Whistler
  • 13 cm (5") - Revelstoke
  • 10 cm (4") - Hudson Bay Mountain
  • 7 cm (3") - Fernie
  • 5 cm (2") - Whitewater
  • 5 cm (2") - Grouse Mountain
  • 5 cm (2") - Manning Park
  • 4 cm (1.5") - Kicking Horse
  • 2 cm (1") - Panorama
  • 2 cm (1") - Kimberley

Forecast for Saturday to Sunday:

Coastal BC:

Periods of off-and-on snow showers will continue across the Coast Range throughout Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday before tapering off a bit on Sunday night. Winds will be moderate to strong at times on Saturday before decreasing a bit on Sunday.

Snow levels will range from 900-1,200 meters (3-4k feet) throughout the weekend, meaning the bottom of Whistler will see rain as will the mid to lower mountains of the North Shore resorts. 

I'm expecting Whistler to pick up another 5-15 cm (2-6") of snow from Saturday morning through Monday morning above mid-mountain. Manning Park and Mt. Washington will see snow totals in the 2-10 cm (1-4") range.

The North Shore Mountains are a tough call because of the mid-mountain snow levels projected. The tops of these resorts could pick up 5-15 cm (2-6"), while the lower portions of the mountains will mostly see rain.

Interior BC:

Off-and-on snow showers will continue throughout Saturday and Sunday with occasional lulls and generally light to moderate snow amounts adding up over time. Moderate southwest to west/southwest winds can be expected as well.

Snow levels will stay below the bases of most resorts, though Revelstoke, Red, and Fernie could potentially see rain mix in at their base areas during the afternoons.

Here is my snow forecast for Saturday morning through Monday morning. This will be a medium-density snow event, not super dry but not super wet either. 

Here is a snowfall projection from the Canadian Model:

Northern BC:

Periods of snow can be expected throughout the weekend with the Northern Coast Range receiving its heaviest snowfall on Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday night, while the Northern Rockies will see their heaviest snow on Sunday and Sunday evening.

I'm expecting Shames Mountain and Powder King to pick up an additional 10-20 cm (4-8") from Saturday morning through Monday morning, and Hudson Bay Mountain 2-8 cm (1-3").

Forecast for Monday to Wednesday:

A powerful and longer-lasting storm will impact Southern BC during this period with the potential for deep snow totals. Snow levels will be slightly lower compared to the weekend, which could be enough for the North Shore Mountains to receive heavy snow, but it will be a close call. Right now, our models have snow levels projected to range from 700-1,100 meters (2.5-3.5k feet) across the Coast Range.

Heavy snow will develop across the Coast Range on Monday morning and will continue through Monday night, with just some light snow shower activity across the Interior initially.

Heavy snow will continue across the Coast Range on Tuesday and into Tuesday night and the Interior will also see snowfall rates pick up on Tuesday. Snow could linger into Wednesday across the Interior as well, while the Coast Range should see snow tapering off by then.

I'll go with an early generalized forecast of 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) for most of the Coast Range ski areas during this event, while most areas of the Interior will likely end up in the 15-35 cm (6-14") range. Stay tuned for an updated and more dialed-in snow forecast in my next post on Monday morning. 

Shames Mountain and Powder King will be on the northern fringe of this storm cycle, but I'm expecting another 15-35 cm (6-14") at Shames Mountain and Powder King with the potential for higher or lower amounts if there are any slight shifts in the storm track.

Extended Forecast

A storm will approach the West Coast late in the week around the Friday (Feb 10) to Saturday (Feb 11) timeframe, but it's expected to split apart with most of the moisture/energy diving southward into the Southwest U.S.

If the split occurs well before reaching the Coast, then the Coast Range could miss out almost entirely, but if the split occurs late enough then a decent round of snowfall will be possible in the Coast Range. This pattern does not look favorably for the Interior and we may be lucky to see anything more than flurries there.

Looking further out, there are hints that the pattern could turn more active again by around February 14th-15th, but we're still 10+ days out so confidence is low. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Monday (Feb 6).

ALAN SMITH

About Our Forecaster

Alan Smith

Meteorologist

Alan Smith received a B.S. in Meteorology from Metropolitan State University of Denver and has been working in the private sector since 2013. When he’s not watching the weather from the office, Alan loves to spend time outdoors skiing, hiking, and mountain biking, and of course keeping an eye on the sky for weather changes while recreating.

Free OpenSnow App