There’s no season like snow season.
Tuesday morning, the North Shore’s local peaks were dusted with this season’s first snowfall, putting hope in the hearts of mountain-goers that there’s plenty more to come this winter.
With temperatures reaching lows of 0 or -1 C at elevation throughout the day, up to three centimetres of snow was forecasted to fall, according to snow-forecast.com. But clouds are set to clear and temperatures rise later in the week, likely wiping any evidence of the wintry weather.
Mt. Seymour posted a picture of the whitened ground at its Mystery Peak area Tuesday morning, as flecks of white stuff could be seen falling in front of the snow stake cam at Cypress Mountain Resort.
Last year, the first day of snow came Oct. 21, and snow was falling this spring as late as April 23, Grouse Mountain’s final day of alpine operations – the latest closing date of the three local hills.
Looking ahead to this season, excited skiers and snowboarders might want to temper expectations, as an El Niño system in the Pacific Ocean is forecasted to bring warmer-than-average temperatures over the next several months, according to Environment Canada. Longer-term trends might also negatively impact snowpack this season. Or not.
