British Columbia Daily Snow

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By Alan Smith, Meteorologist Posted 12 months ago March 30, 2023

Storm remains on track for Friday-Saturday

Summary

We will see one more day of dry & sunny conditions on Thursday, then a strong storm will impact BC on Friday-Saturday with moderate to heavy totals expected across the Coast Range & the Interior with lighter amounts for Northern BC. Backside snow showers can be expected Mon-Tue, then the pattern beyond April 5th looks to favor Northern BC with glancing blows for Southern BC.

Short Term Forecast

Forecast for Thursday:

Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies and dry conditions will persist for one more day, resulting in spring snow conditions on the slopes. High temperatures will range from 1 to 3ºC at mid-mountain elevations throughout Southern BC.

Forecast for Friday to Saturday:

A large trough of low pressure will deepen across the Gulf of Alaska and Western Canada, resulting in a moist southwesterly flow that will favor the Coast Range on Friday-Friday night and the Interior on Friday night-Saturday. A cold front will also move across the region on Saturday.

Coast Range (including Whistler):

Snow will begin on Friday morning, then will become heavy from midday Friday through Friday night. A cold front will also move through late Friday night/early Saturday morning. Snow will become lighter and more showery in nature behind the front on Saturday and Saturday night.

Moderate winds out of the south/southwest can be expected during this event with the highest gusts occurring on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.

Snow levels will be quite low throughout this event, ranging from 450-750 meters (1,500-2,500 feet) on Friday, 150-450 meters (500-1,500 feet) on Friday night/Saturday morning, and 300-600 meters (1,000-2,000 feet) on Saturday afternoon.

Snow totals from Friday morning through Sunday morning will range from 25-50 cm (10-20") across the North Shore Mountains, 15-35 cm (6-14") at Whistler, and 10-20 cm (4-8") at Manning Park and Mt. Washington. Saturday morning will offer the deepest conditions. 

Interior/Powder Highway:

Light snow showers will develop across Okanagan and Western Powder Highwy (Revy, WW, Red) during the day on Friday, then snow will become heavier and more widespread on Friday night and Saturday morning. A cold front will also move through on Saturday morning.

Moderate to heavy snow showers will continue behind the front on Saturday afternoon, before tapering off to lighter snow showers on Saturday night.

Moderate winds can be expected during this event with the highest gusts occurring on Friday afternoon and on Saturday afternoon, with locally strong winds possible across Southeast BC in particular. Winds will be out of the southwest on Friday and Saturday AM, becoming more westerly behind the front on Saturday afternoon.

Snow levels will range from 900-1,200 meters (3,000-4,000 feet) on Friday afternoon, then will generally range from valley bottoms to 750 meters (2,500 feet) on Friday night and Saturday, except for Southeast BC including Fernie where Saturday afternoon snow levels will be near its base (900-1050 meters/3,000-3,500 feet). On Saturday night, snow levels will lower to valley bottoms.

Here is my snow forecast from Friday morning through Sunday morning:

And here is a graphical projection from a blend of weather models:

I would target Saturday afternoon for the deepest conditions, and maybe Saturday morning for western areas (Okanagan resorts, as well as Revelstoke and Red Mountain). Sunday morning should offer plenty of leftovers as well.

Northern BC:

Northern areas will see more of a glancing blow from this storm with light to moderate snow totals. Most of the action will happen on Friday-Friday night with lighter and more intermittent snow showers during the day on Saturday.

I'm expecting a general 5-15 cm (2-6") of snow for most areas, including Shames Mountain and Powder King, while Hudson Bay Mountain will likely end up with 2-8 cm (1-3").

Forecast for Sunday to Monday:

Sunday is closing day at Whitewater, Red Mountain, Apex, Manning Park, and Sasquatch Mountain, and there will be fresh snow left over from Saturday, so get out and enjoy!

The trough of low pressure from previous days will dig southward into the U.S. during this period, taking most of the moisture and energy with it. However, cold air along with some lingering moisture will result in additional snow showers developing both days, especially during the afternoon hours when instability will be greatest (sun heating up the lower atmosphere will lead to convective snow showers).

Snow shower activity looks a bit more robust on Sunday, but snow showers will still be pretty random in nature with snow totals ranging from 0 to 10 cm (0-4"). On Monday, we should see lighter and more intermittent snow showers compared to Sunday with snow totals ranging from 0 to 5 cm (0-2").

Temperatures will remain quite cold for early April with snow levels remaining below the bases of most ski areas. Winds will also be lighter compared to Friday/Saturday. 

Extended Forecast

The pattern from April 5th-13th has trended a bit less active for Southern BC at least as medium to long-range models are now coming into general agreement of a weak ridge of high pressure building in from the south and becoming the dominant pattern.

However, an active storm track is likely to set up along the northern periphery of the ridge, which would be most favorable for Northern BC where stronger and more frequent storms can be expected. Southern BC will be on the southern fringe of the storm track, but should still see shots of snow from time to time. 

Temperatures will gradually trend warmer overall during this period with spring conditions common in between storms, but for the most part, we will still be on the cooler side of average for early April. 

Thanks so much for reading! Next update on Saturday (April 1).

ALAN SMITH

Announcements

Projected Ski Resort Closing Dates:

April 2nd:

Manning Park

Sasquatch Mountain

Whitewater

Apex

Red Mountain

April 9th:

Silver Star

Mt. Seymour

Kimberley

Cypress Mountain

Shames Mountain

Powder King

April 10th:

Mt. Washington

Sun Peaks

Big White

April 16th:

Panorama

Kicking Horse

Fernie

April 17th:

Revelstoke

April 23rd:

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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