Gusty winds and heavy rain expected in southern B.C. as avalanche risk rises

Forecasters are warning of an increased avalanche risk in B.C. amid special weather statements warning of wind and heavy rainfall across the southern half of the province.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Greater Victoria, Surrey, the southern Gulf Islands and the Fraser Valley on Sunday, warning of winds gusting up to 80 km/h as a frontal system rolls through the area.

The forecast comes as Avalanche Canada has raised the danger level to high — the fourth highest risk category on a scale of five — for much of the mountainous terrain to the north and east of Metro Vancouver.

The warning says that natural avalanches are "likely" while human-triggered slides are "very likely," as the new snow from recent storms is "showing poor bonding to underlying weak layers."

WATCH | Avalanche danger rises in B.C.: 

Forecaster warns of heightened avalanche risk amid warming, heavy precipitation

2 days ago

Duration 2:03

Backcountry enthusiasts are being warned about dangerous avalanche conditions in many regions of the province this weekend. As Michelle Morton reports British Columbians are being advised to stay away from wilderness areas if they are not trained on dealing with avalanches.

Ryan Buhler, the forecast program manager at Avalanche Canada, said a series of storms were passing through southern B.C. over the weekend and heading into next week — which were causing warming at higher elevations.

"After prolonged periods of cold and dry conditions through January and February, we have seen multiple weak layers form within the snowpack," he said.

"Now that we are seeing new storm snow accumulating in the mountains, we are expecting some of these weak layers to wake up and dangerous avalanche conditions should be expected."

High avalanche danger levels have also been posted in parts of Vancouver Island, the West Kootenay region and parts of the North Coast from Kitimat, B.C. to Terrace, B.C..

"This series of storms will continue into next week," Buhler said. "So we would expect the danger is going to be elevated for the next little while."

Yellowhead Road and Bridge, the road maintenance contractor for parts of the B.C. Interior, said Sunday afternoon that "significant snowfall" would hit the Coquihalla Summit Sunday evening and impact Coquihalla Highway commuters.

"The brunt of the storm should impact Highway 5 between the Coquihalla Summitt and Larson Hill," a spokesperson wrote in a statement on Sunday.

"Heaviest snowfall is anticipated between 8 and 11 [p.m.] tonight, followed by frequent showers/squalls that cease early Monday morning."

The contractor says up to 15 centimetres of snow could fall in some areas of the Coquihalla overnight, and advised drivers to expect severe winter conditions.

Extreme rainfall in Kootenays

Environment Canada has also issued a winter storm warning for Highway 3 at Kootenay Pass between Grand Forks, B.C. and Creston, B.C. as up to 20 centimetres of wet snow by Sunday night could create "messy and potentially hazardous driving conditions."

A special weather statement is also in place for parts of the Kootenay region in southeast B.C., with Environment Canada warning of up to 50 mm of rain in areas such as Fernie, B.C. and Morrissey, B.C. by the end of the weekend.

"This rainfall in combination with rising freezing levels and a melting snowpack could create areas of pooling water, and other flood risks," the forecaster's statement reads.

Mark Stephens, the manager of emergency programs for the Regional District of Kootenay-Boundary (RDKB), said that residents in the area should keep an eye on catch basins, downspouts and gutters to ensure they're free of debris amid the heavy rain.

WATCH | What is an atmospheric river? 

What is an atmospheric river?

2 years ago

Duration 1:23

It's a term that became more widely known after record-setting flooding hit B.C. in November 2021, but as meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe explains, atmospheric rivers are not new to west coast of North America.

"The freezing level could be rising as well as high as 2000 metres in the area, which would mean that most of our mountaintops would also get that precipitation as rain as well," he said. "And so that's really what we we monitor."

The RDKB has activated its emergency operations centre as a result of the incoming rain, and Stephens said he was keeping an eye on smaller streams and tributaries in the area that can sometimes overflow during heavy rain.

River levels could rise

The provincial River Forecast Centre issued high stream flow advisories — meaning river levels are expected to rise rapidly — on Friday for almost all of southwest B.C. amid the series of storm systems.

There's also a flood watch in place for the Nicola region in the south-central Interior, meaning river levels are already rising and flooding nearby is possible.

Dave Campbell with the River Forecast Centre says those in the region can expect ice jamming — where slabs of ice pile up on a river — due to the rapid warming from the rainfall on frozen rivers.

"We're kind of coming into this cycle with certainly snow on the ground, but below normal snow, and really expecting quite a transition into this weather with some more moderate to heavy rain and warm temperatures," he said.

The forecast centre had issued a snowpack report earlier this month, warning of below-average snowpack levels across the province.

"Generally speaking, I think this weekend we'll probably see a little bit of loss in the snow," Campbell said.

"That could be another sort of factor as we come into the latter parts of the the winter, in terms of that overall seasonal snowpack [report] that we come out with."