British Columbia Daily Snow

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By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago March 26, 2023

Flurries Sunday-Monday, next storm Friday-Saturday

Summary

Lingering moisture and instability will result in isolated flurries on Sunday & Monday with light & spotty accumulations. Snow shower activity will be most widespread across the Eastern & Southern Interior. Dry & sunny weather with spring conditions can be expected Tue-Thu, then the next real storm will arrive on Fri-Sat (Mar 31-Apr 1).

Short Term Forecast

Recent Snow Totals:

Snow showers have been spotty across BC over the previous two days with total snowfall since Friday morning ranging from 0 to 10 cm (0 to 4") in most areas. Exceptions include Whistler (21 cm) and Grouse Mountain (20 cm) where higher snow totals have occurred over the past 2 days.

Forecast for Sunday:

Most areas across Southern BC are waking up to a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday morning. Check out the above-the-clouds sunrise view from Whistler's upper mountain.

And here is a view from Whitewater with scattered high-level clouds, which are common across the Interior on Sunday morning.

Most areas will stay dry through the morning hours on Sunday. However, as the sun heats up the lower atmosphere, scattered snow showers will develop on Sunday afternoon and continue into Sunday evening.

Snowfall will generally be light and spotty with most areas picking up anywhere from zero to 5 cm (0-2") though isolated higher amounts couldn't be ruled out under heavier snow showers. The one area that looks to miss out on this activity is Northwest BC, including Shames Mountain and Hudson Bay Mountain.

Snow levels will generally range from 300-600 meters (1-2k feet) across the Coast Range and 750-1050 meters (2.5-3.5k feet) across the Interior.

Forecast for Monday:

A disturbance will slide into Eastern BC from the northwest on Monday, resulting in a relative uptick in snow showers and flurries across eastern areas such as Kicking Horse, Panorama, Kimberley, and Fernie during the morning hours.

Once we see some daytime heating, a better chance of snow showers/flurries can then be expected throughout the Interior on Monday afternoon.

I still think the eastern zones will be the most favored for snow shower activity, while high levels of instability could also lead to a relative uptick across south-central areas such as Whitewater, Red Mountain, Big White, and Apex. Eastern portions of the Coast Range such as Manning Park could also get in on this action.

Most areas will still be in the 0 to 5 cm (0-2") range on Monday, but isolated higher amounts of up to 10 cm (4") will be possible across East and Southeast BC, including the Purcell and Lizard Ranges.

Further west toward the coast, we will see more of a drying trend at Whistler and across the North Shore Mountains with mid-mountain temperatures rising above freezing.

Across the Interior, snow levels on Monday will range from 150-450 meters (500-1,500 feet) during the morning hours and 750-1050 meters (2.5-3.5k feet) during the afternoon.

The map below shows 2-day projected snowfall totals on Sunday-Monday.

Forecast for Tuesday to Thursday:

The storm track will shift well south of the US border during this time with weak high pressure over BC resulting in dry and sunny conditions. High temperatures will top out around 5ºC across the Coast Range at mid-mountain elevations and near to just above freezing across the Interior.

Spring skiing conditions can be expected during this period with firm snow in the mornings and softening snow in the afternoons.

Extended Forecast

A storm remains on track to impact BC on Friday-Saturday (March 31-April 1). We still need to get a handle on the storm track, but the storm has trended toward deepening further off the coast before making landfall, favoring Southern BC more than Nothern BC and placing most areas under a southwest flow.

Snow levels are currently expected to be relatively low during this event, but we'll get a better idea of specifics moving forward. The same is true for snowfall potential and which areas will be most favored.

Looking further out, the major long-range models are in general agreement with a more active pattern continuing during the first week of April with the main storm track located further north compared to recent weeks. Temperatures are also expected to be colder than average for early April.

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Tuesday (March 28).

ALAN SMITH

Also – I am transitioning over to "spring hours" as the season slowly starts to wind down over the next couple of weeks. I will be posting forecasts on Tuesdays-Thursdays-Saturdays moving forward with my final post of the season on Saturday, April 15th. 

Announcements

Projected Ski Resort Closing Dates:

March 31st:

Powder King

April 2nd:

Manning Park

Sasquatch Mountain

Whitewater

Apex

Red Mountain

April 9th:

Silver Star

Mt. Seymour

Kimberley

Cypress Mountain

Shames Mountain

April 10th:

Mt. Washington

Sun Peaks

April 16th:

Panorama

Kicking Horse

Fernie

April 17th:

Revelstoke

April 23rd:

Big White

Hudson Bay Mountain

May 14th:

Grouse Mountain

May 22nd:

Whistler

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.

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