Locals should brace for a drastic change in the weather starting early next week.
Following a couple of weeks of milder, wet weather in Metro Vancouver, temperatures have dropped down a couple of degrees below seasonal averages, with highs around 6 C and lows dipping down around the freezing mark.
The dry pattern will shift to a cloudy, unsettled one over the weekend, with some showers expected on and off, Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon tells V.I.A.
Starting on Tuesday next week, cold Arctic air is expected to make its way down through the Northwest Territories and into B.C., bringing temperatures several degrees below freezing.
Overnight lows in the Lower Mainland will likely dip down to -5 C to -10 C overnight but may feel quite a bit colder with the windchill.
Temperatures may fall even lower than -10 C, Sekhon notes, adding that it is difficult to predict exactly how low temperatures dip this far in advance.
"Probably at least Tuesday through Friday looks pretty cold and then beyond that we'll have to see how long it will last," he explains.
"We'll have to see what the Arctic outflows are looking like a little bit closer to the time."
Due to the intrusion of Arctic air, there is also a possibility of snowfall in the Vancouver weather forecast. However, it is even more difficult to predict precipitation several days in advance.
Sekhon urges people to prepare for freezing temperatures and to keep in mind that snowfall is possible for several months.
Have a look at The Weather Network model that shows the polar vortex.
Seeing as it is #ValentinesDay, I say this with only love in my heart...don't put away those parkas, toques & thermal underwear. The Polar Vortex's freezer door is going to crack open, as in wide open, beginning next week. pic.twitter.com/i8BseCmCnj
— Chris Murphy TWN (@MurphTWN) February 14, 2023
