More snow for Vancouver Island while B.C.‘s North Coast faces Arctic outflow
A woman and her dogs walk through an alleyway in Victoria, Jan. 18, 2024.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
More snowfall is in the forecast for parts of British Columbia’s south coast after heavy snow battered the region earlier in the week.
Environment Canada says a low-pressure system is creating “bands of flurries” over Vancouver Island, with accumulation exceeding 5 centimetres possible in some areas.
The weather agency is warning travellers to allow for extra time in their planning as driving conditions may change rapidly.
Environment Canada is also warning of an Arctic outflow in parts of B.C.’s North Coast including Terrace and Kitimat, where cold temperatures and strong winds will combine for wind chill values approaching -20 overnight and during mornings.
Residents in the region are asked to limit outdoor activity and shelter pets and animals that are typically outdoors.
The recent frigid weather that brought heavy snow in B.C. and shuttered some schools led to daily low temperature records being broken Friday in communities such as Abbotsford — where temperatures dipped to -11 degrees, three degrees lower than the previous record set in 1989.
Communities such as Hope, Sechelt and Gibsons also saw their daily low records fall, with Hope’s -8.6 degrees breaching a mark set in 1948.