British Columbia Is Going to Be In for a Fantastic Light Show in the Sky!

Issued: December 9th, 2020 @ 9 PM

Updated: December 9th, 2020 @ 9 PM

Forecaster: James Follette

A CME has reached the earth and is producing light shows to some parts of the country. Auroras could potentially reach as far south as Northern US states. For us here in British Columbia, we are going to be one of the provinces that will see them!

Currently, we have a storm off the coast that is bringing some unsettled weather and clouds to parts of the province, but by tomorrow night, clouds increase and we won’t have a chance for a look tomorrow night.

By the weekend, Friday and Saturday night, skies clear on Friday, so expect many parts of the province with the exception of the coast which will be stuck in clouds. Saturday, another storm rolls in! but we see the mainland of our province still fairly clear.

Arctic Blast To Freeze The Province With Cold, Snow, Rain & Wind

Updated: Saturday, October 18th, 2020 @ 5:45 AM

Valid: Friday, October 17th, 2020 @ 11 PM

Forecaster: James Follette

A large trough of low pressure that is bringing relentless bitter cold air to much of Northern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Northern Ontario. Will continue to deepen today as it digs even further south over the coming days which will allow for more cold air to funnel in.

The first snow of the season arrived today for many parts of the province, including the Interior. Higher elevations could pick up as much as 10cm by Midnight Sunday.

Once the snow stops, there will be a series of low pressures that will spread snow and rain showers at times for a few days, then by Thursday, we’ll see a big blast of cold air with highs struggling to hit the freezing mark for many areas, including the coast of Vancouver.

A storm system will bring a messy mix bag of weather to the province on Friday with potential for heavy snow inland, mixed bag, and heavy rain on the coast, and very strong winds.

It could be near Halloween by the time that we will see things warm up back to seasonal again, which is around 13*C for this time of year.

The jet stream is what divides cold and warm air and steers the storms and systems. A large High to the south of our province and a storm system off our coast is helping in keeping us in the middle (for now) notice how by Tomorrow and through Wednesday that the jet flattens? that means much colder air and with a storm off the coast, we are looking at more snow on the way, and rain on the coast. Either way though, we will be seeing some very bitter cold air through the week and possibly to start next week as well!

One of the forecast model tools we use in forecasting and especially in winter forecasting is the 500mb Heights or also known as the 1000-500mb Thickness level. This will give us an idea of what air mass will be around, values of 522 and below indicate a polar air mass, this is where you will get the coldest temperatures and likely snow, 534-540 is known as the rain/snow line. normally 534 would be a mix of rain or snow or just snow and 540 would be a mix of rain and snow or just rain, anything above 540 is usually rain. Then there is 570 and above, that is your Tropical airmass, the hot, humid & sticky air mass from the south.

We’ll be right on that rain/snow line for a good while here in the Interior. Northern parts of the province will see the colder airmass values, and warmer along the coast. The extreme cold is currently over Alberta.

By mid-week, the jet stream flattens and the colder air with height values closer to 528 will bring a chance of snow again to the Interior and as far south as Vancouver West.

Temperatures will be dropping over the next several days, with the coldest air hitting at the end of the week. Temperatures over Northern parts of the province will see temperatures fall to as low as -25*C and highs struggling to get to -5. As for the Interior, Central, and South, temperatures will plummet into the low to mid 5’s for highs with on/off snow and rain showers and wake up to temperatures of near or slightly below the freezing mark. Lower elevations in the city centres will be warmest and likely not see any snow.

For coastal areas, temperatures over the next few days will hover neat 10 degrees than by late week, we will see temperatures drop sharply to the low 5’s.

Overall, the story is that we will see temperatures be below normal by as much as 5 to 10 degrees much of this week!

The 24-hour Temperature change from yesterday will start to fall about near 4 degrees cooler, once we get into Monday-Tuesday, we’ll see 24-hour temperature changes by as much as 20 to 30 degrees colder!

Here’s the Short term forecast, looking at the FutureCAST, we are looking at the RGEM model here and we can see snow exiting this afternoon, as High pressure lingers a little keeping the Northern parts of our province dry. Then as a large High pressure settles over North Eastern parts of the province, the North East winds will shift in colder air to much of the province with exception to the coast, we’ll see scattered showers and snow flurries tonight and again tomorrow. Rain showers on the Vancouver coast.

It’s Thursday into Friday when the big changes happen, still early on those details, but could be looking at a messy size storm, and some record frigid cold air for the Okanagan deserts, especially in northern parts of province.

How much snowfall can we expect? Through Tonight, a widespread 5 to 10cm is expected for mostly higher terrains, lower terrains will see less or just rain, some isolated areas will see only a few cms. further north will see up to 2cm, and the Southeast sections of the province can see as much as 20cm in the higher elevations!

As we fast forward the snowfall totals into Wednesday, we can see additional amounts of snow for Northern parts of the province with up to 20cm possible by end of Wednesday.

Let’s take a look now at your forecast for Tonight!

Greater Vancouver area looking at Rain once again tonight, lows still mild! around 7 degrees. Rain/snow mix for Kamloops, except rain in the city, to snow in the higher elevations, could pick up as much as 10cm! Lows down to -1 tonight, near 0 in the city.

Prince George is beautiful with a few clouds, cold! -7 degrees and +2 in Kelowna with snow snow flurries!

Here is a look now at your Vancouver 7 day forecast!

Looking at rain ending later this morning or noon hour, then rather mostly cloudy skies, some peaks of sunshine. highs only around 10 today, a chance of showers tomorrow and a tad milder! around 12 degrees, then we dry it out for Tuesday through Thursday as high pressure, a very large one! lot’s of dry air with this and the models are predicting pressure as high as 1050mb! If you have a barometer at home, the 1050mb is the borderline of entering into the Very dry section. Those Northeast winds from the high pressure will send down cooler air again with temperatures dropping to near 10, 11 on Friday with rain and rain/snow mix, except snow in Vancouver West. and wet snow or mix for Saturday and a high of ONLY 4 degrees!

For Kamloops and the Thompson river areas and Interior, we are looking at a very miserable and cold, wintry like forecast! Looking at snow ending this morning in the high elevations, rain clearing in the lower elevations. high of 4 today! Showers at times tomorrow and warmer at 8, but still below our normal of 12! Tuesday is when it goes down hill! chance of flurries and 5, Wednesday, a chance of flurries and 4, cloudy and 2 on Thursday, Snow, could be a lot! on Friday with highs near freezing, -9 on Friday morning! very cold on Saturday and a chance of flurries or snow… highs only at -4! and lows near -10.

There could be relief though by the last week of October heading into Halloween!

The Monster Mash!! Thundery cold rain & Hurricane force winds to massive blizzard conditions in the Mountains

Issued: October 13, 2020 @ 4:30 AM

Valid: October 13, 2020 @ 5 AM

Forecaster: James Follette

Gooooooood Tuesday morning British Columbians!! Hope you all had a great and happy Thanksgiving and it not to full for more turkey sandwiches ;)

We have a lot of weather to talk about today, we’ll start with our Severe Weather Alert!

We’ll go first to the radar, where we are tracking some heavy rain & thunderstorms over the Vancouver Island area.

We are tracking several thunderstorms and moderate to heavy rain to start the early Tuesday morning. A lot of the storms are heading to the North and North East towards Vancouver and Victoria. The rain will pick up through the day today and then begin to taper off by the evening hours with scattered showers still coming down.

As we zoom out of the ready for a closer look at rest of Vancouver areas, Lot’s of rain to our South and East, both of those directions is where our winds will be coming from and where the moisture will come from, So plan on a mostly all day washout.

Taking a look at the latest current Satellite Infrared Imagery with Front & MSLP progs programmed in,

We have a very large low-pressure system just off the coast near Haidi Gwaii that will track towards Port Hardy later today as the system strengthens even more, and as it does so it will increase the winds later this afternoon. Winds will become at it’s worst later this afternoon into tonight.

Meanwhile, elsewhere there is lots of nice weather as high pressure in the big boss!

With the Tops Super HD Satellite Imagery, you can picture out where the storm is, a huge wall of cold cloud tops, which means high cloud tops and the colder it is the more intense the system, and the colder it gets the more it intensifies. Currently, we have cloud tops as cold as near -60*C.

As well, the circulation of the low, and where the center is, with the swirl of clouds. You can get a better look however by looking at the Water Vapour Satellite Imagery. This tells us how much moisture is in the clouds. The darker the color, the higher the moisture, the good chance you will see some precipitation falling or even some very heavy moisture.

With systems like these, drier air wraps around the low to the South and East, and this is just like the other cases. Lot’s of moisture wraps around from the SE then a dry air on the back side. Where there is dry air, expect some breaks in the rain and clouds.

We have a warm front that will pass through first bringing us rain, and storms, then behind it we have a cold front, that will swing through later today and tonight to ramp up the winds. Then we’ll have a few good days as High pressure off in the open to our west will slide in here starting on Thursday.

We are tracking several thunderstorms from the south coming up towards Port Hardy. Here is one that is a strong slammer just on the Naniamo River.

Another Strong slammer from between Howell Island and Austin Island

Another strong slammer towards Brewster Lake and the Brewster Lake Recreation site.

And we have this Wild house shaker thunderstorm that is producing cloud to ground lightning, heavy rainfall, and strong winds with intense thunder and frequent lightning. could even see some small hail with these storms. This storm is over the Shushartie River.

Here is a look at our FutureCAST taking us out over next 18 hours, Rain already starting and moved into Vancouver Island, this will continue to spread further North inland, while Snow, Ice Pellets and Freezing rain will occur for a few hours over the higher terrain over Vancouver Island, and some heavy snowfall turning into a massive blizzard for the Mountainous Terrain. Many of the mountains will see as much as 2 to 3 feet of snow!!! meanwhile closer down to lower levels, up to a half foot can be expected in the very high terrain areas, and areas of lower terrain such as in Vancouver Island and along the coast near the water. only a few cm’s is expected.

Along with Rain, Snow, Mix, Ice & Thunderstorms are the very strong winds! Winds will gust as high as 115-125 km/h for some parts of the South coast later today and tonight while most other areas will still see damaging winds of near 100 km/h. and Inland areas will also see strong winds Gusting 40-80 km/h.

Widespread power outages are very likely today, tonight & tomorrow for much of the South coast, and lower Vancouver, meanwhile further Inland where Gusts of 80+ km/h Gusts are possible, potential outages there are also expected.

Thunderstorms expected over much of all of Vancouver areas and the entire South Coast.

Rain this morning, will be Moderate to even heavy at times. Lighter rainfall over Terrace to Kitimat.

Rain becomes more lighter, by Afternoon but the winds will pick up. meanwhile snow will continue to fall heavily over higher terrain and the mountains.

Similar conditions in the Evening hours. So how much rainfall can we expect by time it is all over?

Large area of 20-30 mm is expected, however there are local spots that will likely reach 40+ mm. areas South of Naniamo and around Hope and Penticton. Could see rainfall amounts of near 50 mm, and a bit more near Hope. For remainder of the province far inland, 5-10 mm for Prince George to Williams Lake and down to Kamloops, Vernon and Kelowna. Further South of those areas, only up to 20 mm is expected.

Here is the latest snow map, these DO INCLUDE amounts for High terrain and mountainous areas.

Huge swatch of 30-50cm with many areas in the mainland mountains getting close to or over 60 cm. Same with Hope, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon & Salmon Arm high terrains, and the TransCanada highway over the mountains. Prince George to Quesnel, up to 20cm of snow is expected, near 12cm over terrain in Kamloops. Parts of Vancouver coast could see some 6-12cm of snow, before a change over to all rain.

Vancouver Island, up to 20cm over the high terrains and near 6cm in lower elevations before a changeover. a small dusting to 2cm for the South of Nanaimo.

Lastly, here is a look at the winds! very strong along the coast where it will gusts over 100 to even 110+ km/h. this also includes Kelowna to Penticton. further Inland, expect 80 to as high as 95 km/h Gusts and much of the province from Kamloops all the way north, expect Gusts to 60 km/h.

Another update later this afternoon!

BC Saturday Morning Forecast: More Heat, Haze & Sunshine. Showery Sunday and A Cooling Trend!

Updated: Saturday, October 3rd, 2020 @ 4:25 AM

Valid: Saturday, October 3rd, 2020 @ 5 AM

Forecaster: James Follette

Good Early Morning! This is a updated Version of the BC Evening forecast on Friday, October 2nd, 2020.

Taking a look at the Almanac for today ( Friday) in Vancouver, We have made it to a very nice and warm 20 degrees, The average is only 15, So we were once again above normal by as much as 5 degrees. Record was not broken here in the city, which is at 23 degrees and 0 degrees for record low, we hit 9 this morning only 1 degree above the average low of 8. Sunrise was at 7:14 AM and sun set was at 6:49 PM. We had no rain today, nor we had rain so far this month. Record is 0.50” today and average monthly rainfall is near 5”.

Max highs today, very warm with many broken records smashed. Princeton the hot spot at 26 degrees, a lot of towns and cities making it above 25 degrees and a very large area of temperatures well over 20 degrees. Normal highs this time of year is now between 13 and 17 degrees C. We are at the time of year where 20’s is becoming very rare.

Taking a look at the current Satellite Cloud Tops Alert Super HD. we have that ridge keeping much of the province clear, with the ridge keeping the clouds far to the north. We do have some Haze out there from the wild fires down south in the states, This Haze will persist through the weekend.

Here is a live look at temperatures on this early Saturday morning, First weekend morning of October.

Cold spot is Chilanko Forks at only 2 degrees! It is 4 in Merritt in the Interior. Most areas though are in the 5 to 10 range over the mainland of the province and 10 to 15 on the coast and islands.

Looking at the conditions at this early morning, many areas right now seeing thick fog out there, Where we also have thick fog advisories in effect. You can take a look at those on the IW weather app, but also on Instantweather.com and on the IW BC Facebook page. We have Haze still reported in Vancouver International Airport, Light rain continuous over Sandspit in Haidi Gwaii.

Here is what you need to know to plan your day for this Saturday! Fog patches and Haze at 6am, we’ll slightly warm up to 15 by 9 AM with Haze, That Haze sticks around all through the day and night. we’ll climb to 18 at noon, and climax to 20 at 3pm, However inland areas likely get up to 23/24 degrees. Temperatures tumble to 17 by supper hour and really crash to 12 by midnight.

Here is your weather grade for today! Sunny, Hazy and Warm still! Looking at low 20’s and low 10’s for lows this morning. 8am, we’re at 13 and Haze, 18 by noon and Hazy skies and by 4pm we’re at 20 with Haze, expect a sea breeze to develop this late afternoon which will drop temperatures fast into the late afternoon and evening. where we’re at 13 by 8pm under some clear skies and haze. SW winds off the water at 5-10 km/h so, a light breeze. High humidity! so it may feel a bit sticky out there, areas in the Metro that get to 20 will feel like 26 with humidex today, and those getting up to like 23/24 such as Abbottsford and surrounding inland areas, will feel like the low 30’s with humidex today.

Because of the high humidity, A sea breeze, The Smokey and Hazy skies. I am giving it a B- grade today.

Looking at the FutureCAST taking us out over next few days, Large ridge of High pressure will continue to dominate the province, however a coastal storm will break off a few pieces and bring a slight chance of showers tomorrow for the Interior. Windy and wet weather will continue into Monday for Haidi Gwaii and Central parts of the province. Otherwise, we looking at fairly very dry and mild to warm conditions for the Interior, Vancouver and Vancouver Island over next several days.

Looking at rainfall totals going through next Friday, parts of the NW coast, Haidi Gwaii looking to get up to 2-4” of rain or 50 to 100 mm of rain by Friday evening. For Northern British Columbia, parts of the Interior and Vancouver Island. .10th of an inch to a half inch of rain is expected, or 5 to 15 mm by Friday Evening.

The Warm and dry weather has not been great for the Pollen/Allergy counts where they continue to be High to Extreme for Trees, Grass and weed, Mold counts are down though to near Moderate.

As rain and cooler air moves in during the week, pollen counts will fall to low and moderate levels.

If you’re not a fan of the above average warmth, then maybe you will love this 7-day Temperature trend as temperatures drop swiftly by Sunday, highs of 16, 17 on Monday and climbing to 18 Tuesday and 20 on Wednesday, So we do warm up again briefly, but fall back into the 17-18 range. Now even though these temperatures may be cooler, They’re still above average by a few degrees. Once we get into the 7-10 day period, that is when we could see a much cooler pattern where temperatures go below average.

Here is the weekend forecast, hit 20 yesterday under haze, similar conditions today! A tad more humid and still hazy. More clouds than sun and still Hazy tomorrow, cooler! but still above average at 17 degrees.

Taking a look at the 5-day Regional forecasts, first starting with the Desert, Okanagan, Interior and Kootenays area.

Starting with Kamloops, Hazy skies again today and looking to break record temperatures with highs once again around 24-25 range, much cooler on Sunday with a few showers, Highs near normal! at 18, Clouds and sun on Monday & Tuesday and remains cool at 17-18 degrees and drizzle and clouds on Wednesday and 21.

For Kelowna, Hazy and hot once again today with records being broken, Highs at 26. Cooler with a chance of storms on Sunday, Highs around 20. Cooler and dry next week with highs of 17-19 degrees.

For Grand Forks, Sunny and warm once again next 5 days with highs in the low 20’s, near 24 today.

Cranbrook, Looking at a sizzler today with highs near 27, Records likely to be broken. Cooler and remains sunny all week with highs Sunday into mid next week 20 to 24 degrees.

Now taking a look at the Coasts, Capes & Islands.

Victoria, Hazy skies through the weekend and continued sunshine into mid next week. Highs of 19 to 21 degrees.

Naniamo, Hazy and warm today at 24. Rain at times on Sunday and cooler with a high of 19, sun and clouds Monday, And 19 then sunny and 22 degrees Tuesday & Wednesday.

Campbell Island, Sun & Clouds today and 18. Showery weather Tomorrow into Tuesday and much cooler! Highs of 17 Tomorrow, Only 11 on Monday and 14 on Tuesday, Warmer on Wednesday with a high of 18 and some clouds.

and Lastly for Sandspit in Haidi Gwaii, Showery weather with periods of wind through the week with a break on Tuesday. Highs of 12 to 14 degrees.

And finally your Local Vancouver 7-Day forecast. Haze and 20 today, Another warm one! as well more humid so it will feel more like 26 degrees. Sun & Clouds on Sunday and 16, Sunny skies to start the week and highs of 17-20, We Increase clouds on Thursday and 17 and end the week with a slight chance of showers Friday. High of 18!

More Record Heat Continues For The weekend, Then A BIG Change!

Updated: October 3rd,2020 @ 2:30 AM

Valid: October 3rd, 2020 @ 4:00 AM

Forecaster: James Follette

It was another record breaking day for Temperatures as the continued late summer warmth persists to end the first week of October, Looks to go into the first weekend of October before finally giving up and going to near or below normal temperatures.

Here is a look at some records that were broken on Friday, October 2nd.

Merritt…….. Old record: 18.3 degrees C from 2016, New record: 25.1 degrees C. Average is 17 degrees C

Hope……….. Old record: 22.6 degrees C from 2004, New record: 25.1 degrees C. Average is 16 degrees C

Squamish… Old record: 24.1 degrees C from 1993, New record: 25.2 degrees C. Average is 14 degrees C

Bella Coola. Old record: 23.6 degrees C from 1988, New record: 23.9 degrees C. Average is 14 degrees C

Clinton……… Old record: 23.0 degrees C from 2003, New record: 23.7 degrees C. Average is 14 degrees C

Bella Bella… Old record: 16.8 degrees C from 2016, New record: 21.8 degrees C. Average is 14 degrees C

Prince Rupert Old record: 17.9 degrees C from 2017, New record: 20.2 degrees C. Average is 13 degrees C

Sandspit……. Old record: 15.7 degrees C from 2002, New record: 16.7 degrees C. Average is 13 degrees C

These are just a sample of many records broken on Friday, several towns as warm as 10 to 15 degrees above average. The hot spot in the province Friday was Princeton at 26 degrees C, sadly not a record as the record for Friday was a sizzling 29 degrees from 1975.

These are the max high temperatures from Yesterday (Friday), a small swath of temperatures in the 25 to 30 degree range which is in red, but check out the orange, A very large swath of 20 to 25 degree temperatures which is not uncommon for early October but is at same time, not usual. Those warm temperatures even spread fairly far north of the province where records were also broken.

The Large ridge pumping up the very warm conditions will begin to start flattening out as early as Later today and will persist through the weekend, This will allow for some more unsettled weather and much cooler air to flow down. However the big change where we see some unsettled and very chilly air is not until we get into the latter part of next week towards Thanksgiving weekend and into Thanksgiving.

Even if it will be cooler, Temperatures look to still be almost 5 degrees above normal over the next 2 weeks with day time highs in the 15 to 20 range. Where as by near Thanksgiving, the Average high is between 10 and 15 degrees.

If you’re those kind of people who love this heat, wanting to keep enjoying it and still go to the beach or pool and get a tan, Then you still have the weekend to do so before it becomes a bit cool for the water and tanning.

Hazy & Smokey Skies to Continue Through The Weekend

Updated: October. 3rd, 2020 @ 12:30 AM

Valid: October 3rd, 2020 @ 2:30 AM

Forecaster: James Follette

It was once again another hazy and Smokey day over much of Southern and Central portions of British Columbia as high pressure continues to dominate the province and will continue to do so as the large ridge will continue to build and head further North. This will allow for not only warmer & more humid conditions, but also for an increase in smoke & Haze to flow further over the province from the SW wind allowing smoke from the three States currently burning; Oregon, Washington, & California to cross the border.

The smoke and haze will not be as nearly as bad as the huge blanket of toxic smoke over the province in early Septembe but there will be some unhealthy air conditions over a good portion of Southern and Central BC. The AQI ( Air Quality Index) will be around Low to Moderate for many areas with only one area making it to level 6, which is the high-end of Moderate. Everypne else will be Low to Moderate, between 2 and 4.

While it will be a fairly warm and very dry weekend, there is a system that looks to bring some unsettled weather in the form of showers and much cooler temperatures over parts of Vancouver Island from Nanaimo to Campbell Island. This will reduce, if not, clear all the haze and smoke by Sunday.

Unfortunately, the dry weather will look to stretch into much of the week for Vancouver and Central & Interior desert areas. There could also be a few showers Sunday late day for extreme northern parts.

There is a pattern change coming after the weekend that will bring much cooler temperatures to the province as a series of Low pressures will flatten the jet stream, allowing for cooler Canadian air from the North to flow down. There is also some suggestions from the models that many parts of the province could see some first snow of the season by later on in the new week.

For those with medical and breathing problemssuch as Asthma and Respiratory problems should take some extra caution if going out by limiting the time out in the haze & smoke. Please wear a mask and reduce outdoor exercise.

Also, you should try and stay indoors and have the Air Conditioner on. If you know anyone that is prone to complications from smoke and is in poor health, please check on them frequently and help keep them safe. If experiencing heavy coughing, asthmatic like problems, throat irritation, etc., please go to the ER.

The smoke and haze should exit the whole province by Monday or Tuesday as the more unsettled and cooler air moves in.

BC September Heatwave to Likely Break Records, Pattern Change Next Week!

Wednesday Morning BC Forecast Update

Issued: 6:00 AM, Wednesday, September 9th, 2020

Valid: Wednesday, September 9th, 2020.

Forecaster: James Follett

Good Wednesday Morning! on this early beautiful morning! Gonna be a gorgeous morning out there for a walk or early jog before school or work. Have the AC on full blast folks because it’s going to be a scorcher folks!! We will have wall to wall sunshine all thanks to a Big blue H, our fair weather friend.

This ridge goes far north of the province, and so expect the same kind of weather for several days, with record breaking high temperatures for many much of the week! especially if you’re in the Interior.

Looking above at our Top Alert Super HD Satellite, we have a few mid level clouds bringing a bit of drizzle or light mist and fog to the far north over the ridge, and some clouds over Northern Haidi Gwaii but overall it’s basically crystal clear out there! it’s clear as a bell.

Taking a look at the percentage of cloud cover, as can see almost everyone is seeing clear skies!! which is 0%, some locations under overcast skies at 100%, but the theme here is side to side, top to bottom it is nothing but stars! and a beautiful sunrise.

Taking the kiddos out to the bus stop this morning?? Here is a look at the latest Bus Stop Forecast!

There is nothing to complain about at the bus stop except that it may be a little cool, so bring a very light jacket just for the morning, but dress in sandals, shorts, t-shirt and hat and sun glasses because it will be a oppressive major heat, and many locations, more so the Interior will see another heatwave which is 3 days of consecutive 32*C or greater.

So at the bus stop, 10*C is the temperature between 6 and 8 am, look for nothing but sunshine, light winds! Those winds will however increase just a tad to the West at the late end of the day, on the bus home along with the near 30 degree weather.

And with the extreme heat, we do have alerts issued regarding heat!

• Central Coast -Inland sections

• East Vancouver Island

• The Fraser Canyon

• The Fraser Valley

• Greater Victoria

• The Howe Sound

• Inland Vancouver Island

• Metro Vancouver

• The Nicola

• The North Coast-Inland Sections

• Okanagan Valley

• The Shuswap

• Similkameen

• South Thompson

• The Southern Gulf Islands

• The Sunshine Coast

• West Vancouver Island

• and Finally Whistler!

  These areas can see Extreme heat that is going to be at least 10 degrees or more above average and Temperatures peeking over 25-30*C with out humidex.

  We also have a Air Quality Advisory issued for the smoke coming from the states covering much of the Southern BC area.

• Arrow Lakes to Slocan Lakes

• The Boundary

• East Kootenay

• East Vancouver Island

• Fraser Valley

• Greater Victoria

• Howe Sound

• Inland Vancouver Island

• Kootenay Lake

• Metro Vancouver

• Okanagan Valley

• Similkameen

• The Southern Gulf Islands

• The Sunshine Coast

• West Kootenay

• West Vancouver Island

• Whistler

This is for bad air quality due to forest fire smoke which continues to cover much of Southern BC, If you have bad respiratory problems like asthma, today be a great day to stay in.

As for the Heat, if heading out, drink plenty of fluids, dress in light clothing, wear sunscreen, ignore the sun from 10-4 and check on your elderly, and family members also, please do not keep children and pets in cars!

Highs today, a very large swath of much of BC will see highs today in the 30 to 35 degree range, this includes Vancouver Island, much of the Interior and southern sections all the way up to Williams lake and as far north as near Kitimat, This is where the hottest temperatures will be.

For Kitimat, Terrace, Smithers, Prince George to Quesnel and Salmon Arm, look for 25 to 30 degrees today, so still a very warm one!

For The Mountains and Northern Rockies and border into Alberta, look for temperatures of 20-25 today.

Now when you factor in a little bit of humidity…

These are the forecast Humidex values for today, this is what it will “FEEL LIKE” Smithers to Naniamo and all the way to Salmon Arm, a very big coverage area of red, this is 30 to 35*C humidex readings. for Hope, Penticton and possibly Victoria. look for the hottest humidex readings of 35 to 40*C. Prince George and the Rockies looking at 25 to 30*C humidex readings. Now Quesnel, you may notice is somewhat very close to the dividing line of 25 to 30 and 30-35, the western side should see 30+ humidex while the East side will see up to 30 degree humidex.

Here is a look at your hourly forecast starting this morning at 11, we’ll be nearing 20 by noon time and by supper hour with full sunshine, highs today will make a run in the upper 20’s to near 30, again with humidity it will feel like the low to mid 30’s. by 9pm we’re down to 24 and still warm at midnight at 20 degrees.

If you do not like the heat, well then you may want to stay in a AC conditioned room or the basement because it is going to be hot and dry for next several days. in fact much of this week will be sunny and hot.

However to the North, North of Prince George, there is going to be some increasing clouds for the weekend and beyond from a back door cold front.

Also some clouds moving in after the weekend for Vancouver, but it stays dry and warm right through until next Wednesday.

After that! we have a potential weather pattern change where a series of storms will come slamming into the BC coast bringing lot’s of rain and some fairly strong winds. It still to early to say for sure though! but it does look more and more likely we will have a more unsettled weather pattern, and much cooler too! by mid next week!

Until then.. check out these Temperatures for the week in Vancouver and Metro!

Look at these temperatures!! Today, highs up to 33 in the inland and warmest spots, 34 tomorrow! then we drop down quite a bit! down to 28 on Friday, which is still very warm for this time of year! 25 on Saturday, 22 on Sunday, Monday 23 and 22 Tuesday. So we begin to see a more comfortable airmass once we get pass the weekend, but until then we’re in the oven.

Weather Grade today, an A- now I could give it a A+ or A++ but, the heat is a bit to hot to give it some good credit! other than that though, light winds, lot’s of wall to wall sunshine. Winds becoming Westerly 5-10 km/h late in the afternoon, and humidity levels almost near 50%.

Forecast now for the Interior, Peace River and Fraser to Fort George areas.

Kamloops, looking at highs of 31 today, 34 tomorrow, 35! on Friday, cooling down to 32 on Saturday and a cloudy 33 on Sunday. a hot one in the Desert! Nothing but full sunshine through the weekend.

For Prince George Wednesday, Thursday Sunny skies! and mid 20’s, clouds increase by Friday into the weekend. highs in the low to mid 20’s, normal is 17 this time of year!

For Fort-St. James area, Sunny skies today & tomorrow, highs in the low to mid 20’s, clouds increase Friday into the weekend and highs into the low 20’s, still warmer than average! which is 17!

For Fort-St. John area. Sunny skies today and tomorrow with highs in the low to mid 20’s, normal is only 16! we get back to normal on Friday with 16 degrees and showers, rain on Saturday and 15 and look at this! Cold and wet and a possibly a tad white? looking at a potential rain/snow mix early in morning then rain. cold!!! highs ONLY at 8 degrees.

Moving on now to the Kootenay’s & Okanagan regions.

Hope, Kelowna, Osoyoos & Warfield! looking at sunny skies and blazing heat! for next 5 days. some small clouds on Sunday in Hope.

Highs of 33 today, 35 tomorrow and 30 Friday then down to the upper 20’s at 27 and 26 for the weekend in Hope.

For Kelowna. Sunny skies all way into the weekend! highs of 30 today, 33 Tomorrow, 34 on Friday, 32 on Saturday & Sunday.

for Osoyoos, Sunny skies through the weekend, 31 today, 33 Tomorrow, 34 on Friday, 33 Saturday and Sunday!

and for Warfield… the normal for you is a balmy 24 this time of year, and check out this forecast! sunny skies all week and highs of 30 today, 33 tomorrow. Not hot enough yet? how about a 36! on Friday, then 33 Saturday and 34 on Sunday.

So for the Desert areas, looking at a prolonged summer stretch of record heat.

For Vancouver now, Sunny skies this afternoon! highs of 28 to 33 in the region. Westerly winds light becoming 5-10 from the West later this afternoon. records likely to be broken!

Next 24 hours, looking at hot sun today and 33 in the hottest areas, down to 13 tonight under clear starry skies.

Here now is the 7 day for Vancouver and Metro. 33 today, except cooler 28 near the water. 34, tomorrow under more sunshine. near 30 by the waters. cloudy skies on Friday and 28, 25 on Saturday and partial clouds, clouds and cooler on Sunday at 22, 23 on Monday under partial clouds and clouds and 22 on Tuesday. then beyond that it looks like rain and wind returns for Wednesday. Turns breezy as well on Sunday afternoon through mid week!

That is your Early Morning Forecast Update

Have a great Wednesday, Stay safe please wash your hands, wear a mask and keep a safe distance of 6ft!

A Swift change coming to BC following after a Early September Heatwave

Issued: Monday, September 7th, 2020 at 4 AM PT

Valid: Monday, September 7th, 2020

Forecaster: James Follett

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After many British Colombians have been enjoying prevailing sunshine and basking heat that was a real treat which is more typical for July and Early August. A big change in the weather will come for Today Monday, September 7th.

For folks in the Interior, Okanagan, and Kootenays. where it’s been almost a week of 30C+ temperatures and lot’s of sunshine, you will wake up to fairly Gusty winds to 70 km/h, except up to 90 km/h for extreme southern sections of the Okanagan desert and Interior from Whistler to Hope and up to Penticton. and a fairly much cooler day with temperatures 5 to 15 degrees cooler than have been experiencing. Highs are only expected to be in the 20-25 degree range, which is right around average for this time of year between 20 and 22 degrees. The good news is that with the Gusty winds and cooler Temperatures is that there will be sunshine!!

For folks in Vancouver, Vancouver Metro, Vancouver Island, Victoria and all along the BC Coast, you have also been spoiled with warm basking sunshine! and here is the good news! The heat will continue for you! in fact it might be even hotter than yesterday, many areas flirting with 30*C, winds will also be Gusty up to 70 km/h.

For folks in parts of Central spreading far North from North of Kamloops to Williams Lake, Quesnel, and past Prince George, you can Cooler temperatures of around 15 to 20*C, but also will see the least Gusty winds, winds Gusting up to 60 km/h, however there are many locations that may not even get winds Gusting past 40 km/h.

For folks in the Columbia Mountains & Coast Mountains, you will be dealing with a very chilly day! Cold air, typical of Late October and early November will flow down from the mountains & Rockies, Highs only around 5 to 10*C and there might be quite a few locations that may not even get above 5*C, as for winds the Coast Mountains will see Gusts up to 80 km/h, and there could be a few isolated locations getting near 90 km/h. The Columbia Mountains will see small Gusts of up to 60 km/h.

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Discussion:

A very large and intense trough of Low pressure located over Northern Ontario is digging far south to a point where it is going to do a buckle in the jet stream. A jet stream is the driver of all weather! and tracker of all weather, it divides cold air from the North to the Warm air down South. When you get a backwards “U” you get what is called a ridge! and that brings Fair weather and warmth, meanwhile when you get a “U” shape, you have what is called a trough and those bring unsettled weather and often cooler temperatures.

Most of the time you may see a roller coaster of a jet stream on a Weather map. the Front and backward “U’s” Think of a steering wheel of a car! you have 1 hand at 3 and 9 O’clock so side by side. you turn the wheel to the right, your hand goes up, while the right hand goes down. That left hand that went up is a ridge, and if the winds are strongest to the right, it is just going to “dig” the right hand falls, and so that is a trough.

In our weather situation for this system, we have a very large ridge of High pressure ( the backwards U shape) just off our coast, meanwhile at the same time we have a Large low ( trough) the “U” shape over Western Alaska, the winds right now are strongest on the right side of the Alaskan trough which will be the Left side on our ridge! this means that the trough is lifting our ridge up north further, this will actually send more sunshine and further warmth for much of the BC coast! However, for everyone else in the province, the strong winds in the jet stream on the right side of our ridge which is the left on our very large trough over Ontario. this will send the dive and the Cooler and windy side to much of BC, however the precipitation should generally skip the province with exception to parts of Eastern BC near the Rockies and Mountains.

So areas under the ridge tomorrow which will be everyone up and down the entire BC Coast. will see a very lovely Labour Day Monday! and for Northern and Central BC, can expect clouds and much cooler air. parts of the mountains will see temperatures near freezing. for the Southern portions, look for some warmth, about seasonal temperatures, Gusty winds and sunshine!

Now because of the large convergence of the large ridge and large trough, this will bring in some very Gusty winds for much of the province, everyone will see Gusts above 40 km/h, but the strongest winds will be found towards the South, Interior, Okanagan and surrounding areas where Gusts of 70 to as high as 90 km/h is likely.

Trough will be close enough to bring rain to the Rocky Mountains, Columbia Mountains Tonight through tomorrow afternoon. Generally this will be a light rain event, not looking at much rainfall roughly around 5 to 10 mm. there are isolated pockets that can see amounts up to 15 mm on the extreme SE sections of BC, we couldn’t be able to move the legend that is covering that area, but I am forecasting 15 mm in some isolated areas.

Now even though we are going to see a large change in temperatures, and Gusty winds and little rainfall.. that is nowhere near as bad as what the Prairies and much of the Mid-Western states! the Prairies are looking at snow, and cold temperatures near or below freezing.

Think that is bad? How about this, Denver Colorado… still having a heatwave with temperatures nearing 40*C, breaking records they will have one more day of this gorgeous weather, because tomorrow… They can see up to a half foot of snow! Rain, Sleet and strong winds along also with temperatures about 70 degrees colder in a 24 hour period! There are Excessive Heat warning, red flag warnings AND a winter storm warning issued for that state all at the same time! so Be grateful for our small change, compared to a complete flip from blistering heat to a blizzard in a 24 hour period.

Now that change of only a 24 hour period… that will also be the case for us, Tonight into Tuesday, the giant ridge of High pressure off our coast is going to push north and east further inland, this will bring in back that gorgeous sunshine and warmer temperatures for the province, and this will develop a Cut off low for California, they could see some beneficial rain and wind for several days!

and the models are suggesting that the jet stream will be over our province for the next 10 days, well into Mid September with several many more days of 30+ degree heat coming to the south and coast. There are signs that we could see some cooler air and rainfall from a low off the coast after the 10 day period.

Closer to the future though, plan on a change in weather today, followed by another long stretch heatwave for the Interior beginning Wednesday into the weekend.