Vancouver set for cold snap as the week nears its end, says Environment Canada

Vancouver will experience a cold snap over the coming days, says Environment Canada.

Despite the unusually balmy festive season, Vancouver isn’t out of the woods regarding winter weather just yet, as Environment Canada announces a cold blast set to sweep over the region.

Vancouver will continue to experience temperatures that are chilly but typical for this time of year over the coming days, with daytime max temperatures of around 6 C and overnight low temperatures around the freezing point, said Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor.

The icy temperatures will truly set in over the weekend, with daytime highs set to linger just above the freezing mark, and overnight lows to plummet as low as -4 C and -5 C.

“We’ve got a little bit of cool air that has been dammed up over the Beaufort Sea and northern Alaska, causing low-pressure to develop across northern British Columbia over the next 24 hours,” he said.

“The cool air will track rapidly south-eastwards, opening the door for that cold air on the back side of that low pressure area to slide through the Yukon territory and British Columbia, gradually reaching the South Coast by the weekend.”

Despite the descending mercury, Proctor assures the Arctic blast won’t feel as extreme as it has in previous years.

When compared with previous Januarys, weather in Vancouver has been markedly less wet and cold, and those in the region can expect as much for the remainder of the month, said Proctor.

“There’s going to be a continuation of the fairly dry trend, and it is not going to be as cold as what we saw last year,” he said.

As for the rest of the season, Proctor said “fairly typical winter conditions” can be expected.

The temperatures may drop and a “couple of snowstorms aren’t out of the question,” but any signs of a brutal winter are still yet to show, he said.

“It doesn’t look particularly threatening at this moment in time, just typically cooler than what we might experience at this time of the year,” he said.

In light of the impending cold snap, the City of Vancouver has announced additional shelters will be open starting Tuesday night through to Thursday, Jan. 16.

Extra shelter spaces will be open at the following locations:

• Directions Youth Services Centre at 1138 Burrard St.
• Aboriginal Front Door at 390 Main St.
• The Salvation Army Belkin House at 555 Homer St.
• OPS Overnight EWR Shelter at 141 East Hastings St.
• Commercial-Hastings EWR at 1726 East Hasting St.
• Kiwassa Neighbourhood House EWR Shelter at 2425 Oxford St.
• Marpole Neighbourhood House EWR Shelter at 8585 Hudson St.
• The Nest at 320 Alexander St.