Get your boots out and check your tires, Environment Canada says winter is on its way.
Whether you鈥檙e ready or not, meteorologist Doug Lundquist is predicting snow will arrive in the valley by Friday morning.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 coming up is going to be really unusual,鈥� Lundquist said.
But before the snow, he added, came the Halloween night rain.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to endure the wrath of my children,鈥� he joked.
Wednesday, he added, will remain fairly warm, but by Thursday, Lundquist said it will start to cool off, and by Thursday night into Friday we will be seeing rain and snow mixed.
鈥淔riday might be just a snowy day all day,鈥� he continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to come down the mountain and start collecting in the valley bottom at times. Saturday and Sunday it鈥檚 going to be cold and snowy.
If the timing is wrong, he noted, Vernon residents could be seeing as much as 10 centimetres of snow by Sunday. The good news for winter sports enthusiasts is that at high terrain, Lundquist said, there will be quite a bit of snow regardless.
Next week, however, we can expect this arctic front to blow back a bit.
鈥淏y mid-week it will probably warm up enough that it will be more wet than snowy 鈥� at least in the valley bottom,鈥滾undquist said.
This early taste of winter, he said, is also a good opportunity to prepare for the months ahead.
鈥淚t (winter) is definitely happening earlier than usual and it鈥檚 going to be a real awakening,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think we need to winterize our vehicles and our houses and not fall on our laurels and wait until the end of November to change our behaviour.鈥�
In regard to the science behind the sudden change, Lundquist said we can chalk this up to the randomness of weather.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 say I know enough about climate change to say that that鈥檚 an issue, but I can say that the jet stream isn鈥檛 riding the pattern, so you wonder how much is just randomness and how much is the changing nature of the longer term climate.鈥�
Erin Christie
Morning Star Staff
