It appears that Greater Victoria, and Vancouver Island, will experience a white Christmas.
It appears that Greater Victoria, and Vancouver Island, will experience a white Christmas.
“I think we can probably, definitely say by midday Christmas Day we should be seeing snow for much of the Capital Regional District,” Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor said Thursday.
“My definition of a white Christmas is two centimetres on the ground. And it will be getting colder.”
Weather conditions specificwere issued for Greater Victoria and the Malahat, east, inland Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands.
All those areas are expected to see snow tonight and Sunday. Tonight will be colder than usual and will continue into next week. A special blast Arctic air will blow towards the coast on Christmas Day.
Proctor stated that for the past three week, a northwest flow from Gulf of Alaska has been blowing across southern B.C., bringing with it unseasonable conditions like 11 hours of freezing rainfall in Abbotsford. The flow is moving west, which allows colder air from the interior to seep in and arrive here on December Day.
But it’s a complicated weather pattern and will be variable, said Proctor. Some areas will see rain initially, but it will snow by Saturday.
“We’re expecting some snowfall down the east side of Vancouver Island overnight [Thursday night]And [this] morning. The main precipitation for the [capital region] will arrive beginning Christmas Eve evening and continuing into Christmas Day,” the meteorologist said.
More widespread snow is possible as the airmass around South Coast cools.
Temperatures are expected to remain below seasonal levels until December 31, as the cold Arctic air moves around the south coast. The overnight temperature will drop to 0 °C tonight, -4 °C on Christmas Day and -8 °C on Boxing Day, said Proctor. Temperatures will then oscillate between -5 °C to -8 °C overnight until the New Year.
Environment Canada has warned that there is a greater risk of hypothermia and frostbite. According to the agency, it is important to protect yourself and wear appropriate clothing outdoors.
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