Consider throwing on an extra layer before heading out the door in Whistler on Tuesday.
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for the resort community on Monday morning, Nov. 28 (alongside most of the Lower Mainland and South Coast) warning of the potential for "winter weather" early this week. Outflow conditions are expected bring strong winds, sub-zero temperatures, cold windchill and snow to B.C.'s southwest corner from Tuesday to Wednesday morning, according to forecasters.
As that cold, arctic air continues to blow south into the Interior Monday, the federal weather agency says the brisk outflow winds are expected to push west toward the coast "throughout the day," driving temperatures down.
Accompanying the bitter wind is a "developing area of low pressure" that's expected to follow in its tracks. Whistler will see a chance of flurries Tuesday before the snowstorm's full brunt reaches the South Coast that night, bringing what Environment Canada says could be "significant accumulations" of snowfall to the region.
"Overnight on Tuesday, an increasing southeasterly flow will usher in warmer air and a transition from snow to rain is likely some time before Wednesday morning," the alert read, though "Areas further inland"— like Whistler— "can expect this transition to be delayed."
Motorists planning to hit the road should keep in mind travel conditions will be poor.
Environment Canada forecasters are calling for cloudy skies with a 60 per cent chance of flurries in Whistler beginning Tuesday morning, with snow starting to fall in the afternoon and lasting through Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to reach a low of -9 C Tuesday, before warming to a low of -3 C the following day.
Whistler is predicted to see a low of -13 C on Monday, significantly chillier than the resort's average Nov. 28 low of -4 C. Temperatures are expected to level out at -11 C overnight, though it will feel more like -18 with the windchill. Whistler Blackcomb's snow and weather report says its slopes could see between four and 8 centimetres of snow accumulation on Thursday, and eight to 12 cm on Wednesday.
