Brace yourselves: more snow is on the way
Kamil Karamali | CBC News | Posted: December 10, 2016 12:30 AM | Last Updated: December 10, 2016
South Coast could see up to 20 cm of snow, but showers expected Saturday
Get ready for a messy weekend — followed by some freezing temperatures.
CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe says the snow will continue for most parts of the South Coast Friday night.
"We were talking about ranges between two and 20 centimetres," said Wagstaffe. "That's exactly what the South Coast is going to get."
That blast of snow caused Simon Fraser and Capilano Universities to shut down their campuses by mid-afternoon Friday. It also caused transit delays — with bus services affected in Burnaby, Vancouver and the North Shore.
What happens Saturday is tough to predict. It could be anything from snow, rain, or a mix of the two depending on where you live.
"So the snow is not over for most, although it's still looking like it may change to rain for areas right at sea level Friday evening.
Wagstaffe says the weather is very 'elevation dependent.'
But there's still a good chance that much of Metro Vancouver will see yet another round of snow Saturday morning before the changeover to rain.
Freezing next week
Wagstaffe says the weather will clear up Sunday but only to make way for a new Arctic air mass.
"This is going to be a bigger story than the snow," said Wagstaffe. "Beginning Sunday night through next week, our overnight lows drop possibly to minus 10 degrees for Metro Vancouver."
"That is an even colder Arctic air mass than the one we just had."
She says whatever precipitation is on the ground Sunday night is going to freeze.
Wagstaffe adds that Metro Vancouver experiences a couple of cold snaps every year, but there's something unique about this one.
"What is unusual is that we had that snow move in to start that first Arctic air mass," said Wagstaffe.
"Normally, we often don't see a disturbance move through while we've got this Arctic air mass in place and leave that snow on the ground. That's unusual that we've got two cold snaps back to back."