Winter isn't cancelled just yet, Environment Canada says, following mild December for much of B.C.
Cool temperatures, more precipitation may be on the way later this month, weather agency predicts
It was a brown or green Christmas in many parts of British Columbia, as mild temperatures swept through much of the province last month — despite earlier predictions for a cooler, wetter, snowier winter.
In the fall, forecasters predicted that a La Niña weather pattern would likely move into the province, bringing cool temperatures and more precipitation.
And while some areas ended up experiencing one of the warmest Decembers on record, there's still a chance B.C. will get a taste of winter, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada warning preparedness meteorologist Armel Castellan.
Castellan said B.C. could dip to seasonal temperatures starting around Jan. 19.
"If that cold can come around, yes, winter will not totally be cancelled," he told CBC's The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn.
That taste of winter will come sooner in some areas. On Tuesday morning, a snowfall warning was in effect for inland areas of the North Coast, including Stewart, B.C.
That would be good news for places like Clearwater, around 110 kilometres north of Kamloops, where the local ski runs haven't been able to open for the second year in a row due to a lack of snow and cold.
"We've got to just kind of cross our fingers and toes and then hope," Clearwater Ski Hill board president Aaron Murray said on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops. "If we get that ton of snow, then we're good to open."
Weaker La Niña
La Niña events appear every three to five years, according to Environment Canada, and last anywhere from one to two years.
Last month, Environment Canada released its seasonal outlook, predicting a shift into a La Niña this winter.
The weather agency suggested warm weather in B.C. would be followed by normal to below normal temperatures. Those cool temperatures could be strengthened by a fluctuation in Pacific Ocean temperatures known as Pacific decadal oscillation, it said.
It said the La Niña event would be less intense than in years past.
The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has also said this year's La Niña will be short and weak.
"It will be a fizzle of a La Niña if it does occur," Castellan said.
"In fact, even when it's a fairly robust La Niña, the signal for us way up here in the mid-latitudes is fairly noisy, meaning it sometimes is colder and wetter, yes, but other times it's warmer."
Castellan said La Niñas are tough to predict, because so many factors, including ocean surface temperatures, atmospheric changes and trade winds, happen simultaneously.
The WMO suggests the mild winter has been a result of strong westerly wind anomalies in the fall, wind patterns that are "not conducive for La Niña development," the organization said in a media release.
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With files from The Early Edition and Daybreak Kamloops