Locals should brace for more snowfall as the Lower Mainland is expected to get walloped with up to 20 cm starting on Monday (Dec. 19) night.
Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning on the heels of a significant weather event Sunday that brought several centimetres of snowfall to Metro Vancouver as well as piercing cold temperatures.
The "coldest air on Earth" made its way across Alaska, down through the Yukon, and into southern British Columbia, bringing glacial temperatures that fell as low as 10 C below seasonal averages.
Starting on Monday, however, there is only a 30 per cent of flurries during the afternoon. While temperatures aren't expected to dip below -5 C, they may feel closer to -12 C with windchill. Starting in the evening, up to 5 or 10 cm of snow is expected to fall.
The snow is expected to continue through Monday night into Tuesday morning, with up to 5 cm of accumulation expected and wind gusting up to 20 km/h. Temperatures are expected to dip down to -6 C but they will feel more like -13 C with windchill.
The snowfall is expected to taper off on Tuesday afternoon.
Commuters should prepare to adjust their driving for changing road conditions and avoid heading out if they do not have snow tires. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.
Metro Vancouver Weather Forecast
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas?
While snow-dusted holidays are few and far between in Metro Vancouver, the odds are stacked in favour of at least some snowfall on the big day this year.
Typically, Christmases in the city are wet or dry; a frosty holiday is decidedly rare. But the blast of Arctic air that moved into the region over the weekend may provide conditions for snowfall to persist through the holiday, according to a new report.
