Beneficial moisture arrives in B.C., thunder risk for Interior

This gloomy weekend is worth celebrating across British Columbia as much of the province is mired deep in a drought heading into this year’s wildfire season.

This weekend’s rain and snow won’t erase the deficit by any means, but any relief is good news this time of year. Beneficial snows are possible for higher elevations.

We could even see a risk for thunderstorms build in the Interior on Sunday.

CANADA'S WILDFIRES: Visit The Weather Network's wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active start to wildfire season across Canada.

This weekend: Gloom is good in a drought

An upper-level low diving into the region from Alaska will stop short just off the West Coast, setting up an active pattern that’ll see multiple disturbances slide into southern B.C. through the weekend.

Moisture streaming in from the south will feed these disturbances and fuel periods of low-elevation rains and alpine snow over the next couple of days.

Temperatures will come in a few degrees cooler than normal as the gloomy, rainy conditions settle into the region. The weekend won’t be a complete washout, but we will see periods of on-and-off rain move into B.C. through Saturday and Sunday.

Rainfall totals of 20-40 mm are expected for much of the Lower Mainland and western Vancouver Island, with lower totals for the usual rain shadow areas like Victoria.

We’re even on the lookout for a few rumbles of thunder across the B.C. Interior during the afternoon hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Instability building over the region could allow a couple of thunderstorms to bubble. These storms will need to be watched closely—lightning is responsible for sparking more than half of B.C.’s annual wildfires.

SEE ALSO: Officials already preparing for potentially active 2024 wildfire season in B.C.

Falling freezing levels will allow precipitation to fall as snow at higher elevations across the South Coast and the Rockies. Snow is even possible down into some of the mountain passes into early next week.

The precipitation arriving this weekend will help as we head into wildfire season, but it’ll fall far short of what we need to meaningfully put a dent in the drought. B.C. officials are concerned about the fire risk over the coming weeks as drought covers vast swaths of vulnerable land across the province.

Looking ahead, forecasters see unsettled conditions and near or slightly below-seasonal temperatures sticking around into the first week of May.

Header image courtesy of Ivy Fabro.

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