Vancouver nears first snowless winter in 43 years as temperatures hit record books
It may finally be safe to take the winter tires off your vehicles, because the chances of Vancouver receiving any snow this season are looking mighty slim.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) told Daily Hive that Vancouver is about to experience its first no-snow winter in 43 years.
When the spring equinox occurs on Friday, March 20, it will be the first time that Vancouver goes snow-free since 1982-1983.
ECCC meteorologist Brian Proctor explained that while locals did see some flakes recently, it didn’t happen where it counts: at Vancouver International Airport.
An official snowfall at YVR must be one centimetre of accumulation in order to be counted by the weather station.
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“Vancouver did receive trace accumulation once each on Feb. 20, March 10, and March 15,” explained Proctor. “However, all three measurements were effectively unmeasurable.”
When asked why YVR’s weather station was the arbiter on whether the city experienced a snow-free winter, Proctor explained that it all goes back to a period of record and the reliability of measurements.
“YVR is the most reliable in the Vancouver area,” he said.
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Several cities across the province broke temperature records this winter, including two spots that shattered 96-year-old records.
Vancouver itself is about to conclude its second-warmest winter on record since 1897, with a mean temperature of six degrees.
“The normal mean is 4.3 degrees, so we would classify this as warm,” added Proctor.
Several other B.C. cities also experienced a warmer-than-average winter season, with the weather stations in Abbotsford and Downtown Victoria measuring the respective cities as the fourth warmest on record.
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You’ll want to keep your umbrellas nearby, as the Vancouver weather forecast is calling for lots more rain thanks to a prolonged atmospheric river.
ECCC has issued an orange warning for rainfall in parts of Metro Vancouver. The Fraser Valley Regional District has also issued a state of local emergency for Electoral Area E, which is southeast of the Chilliwack area.
While there’s a chance ECCC’s rainfall warning could be expanded, right now it has been issued for Metro Vancouver, northeast, including Coquitlam and Maple Ridge.