Pattern change looms as B.C. endures record December warmth
It’s been a brutal start to the winter across southwestern British Columbia. Record-breaking warmth and a string of atmospheric rivers were the norm across the province to end 2023, and they left a significant mark.
Ski resorts are hurting for snow and one city just saw its warmest December day on record. Despite the rough end, a pattern change lurks for the new year that could bring wintry relief for those who need it the most.
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Warmer and wetter conditions are no stranger to the West Coast during a winter with a strong El Niño in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The warmth we’ve seen so far this month is pretty impressive. Many communities across the South Coast and Vancouver Island broke temperature records in the closing days of 2023, including an all-time monthly temperature record in Tofino.
A high of 16°C at the Tofino Airport on December 29 broke the previous all-time monthly high temperature of 15.6°C measured back on December 2, 1969.
Persistent ridges and repeated visits from atmospheric rivers helped foster above-seasonal temperatures and above-seasonal rainfall—-marking Vancouver’s first wetter-than-usual month since last January.
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The atmospheric rivers that helped fuel those above-seasonal rains and warmer temperatures also pushed mild air into the mountains, where ski resorts are seriously hurting for snow this season.
Freezing levels repeatedly rose throughout the month, allowing above-freezing temperatures and liquid rain to chomp away at any snowpack these winter sports venues have been able to accrue.
Fortunately, though, it seems the tide may turn heading into January.
Forecasters see a pattern change through the first two weeks of January with the arrival of a trough that should allow colder air to spill toward the coast from the province’s interior.
This would bring welcome relief for ski resorts, as well as the prospect of beginning to build snowpack for the spring and summer to come.
Header image submitted by Ron Ross in Tofino, B.C.