Metro Vancouverites should brace for another storm to move through the region this week, bringing more rainfall to previously parched land.
November is typically the wettest month on average in Vancouver but there was plenty of wet weather at the end of October this year. That said, the first half of the month was unseasonably warm and dry, so the monthly averages don't provide a complete picture for the month.
Now, Environment Canada is calling for a couple of dry days starting on Tuesday (Nov. 1.) On Thursday, however, another atmospheric river is expected to bring heavy rain to the region, which is expected to continue into Friday night, Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau told Vancouver Is Awesome.
On Saturday, the heavy rain is expected to subside as temperatures drop overnight to 1 C or 2 C. As the temperatures fall, there is a potential for wet flurries at higher elevations. Places at sea level are not expected to see snowfall but will likely have some very cold rainfall due to the frigid weather, explains Charbonneau.
Heading into next week, the meteorologist says some of the forecast models are predicting a very cold pattern to move into the region while others do not. As such, the forecast is "quite uncertain" beyond the weekend, though you may be seeing that snowflake icon on your iPhone weather app for some days a week or more out.
"What does seem reasonable is a shift to a cooler pattern starting Saturday onward," Charbonneau noted.
The Weather Network weighs in on the Metro Vancouver Weather Forecast
The Weather Network is also calling for a colder-than-average pattern for the first couple of weeks of November.
Locals should expect late October's temperatures to persist into the first half of the month, which "will deliver shots of winter-like weather to Western Canada" as well as "widespread colder-than-normal temperatures are also expected across most of Northern Canada."
During mid-November, the wintry weather across western Canada is expected to "spread south and east across Central Canada and even into parts of Eastern Canada" but the focus of the cold weather will stay in Western Canada.
Towards the end of November, the weather forecaster expects a shift in the pattern, "with the focus of the coldest weather spreading across Central Canada, including much of Ontario and into western Quebec."
Western Canada is also expected to see some appearances of mild temperatures before the start of winter.
November has a rainy reputation in B.C., but The Weather Network expects this year to be particularly wet. Above-average precipitation is expected across most of southern B.C. and southern Alberta.
The weather forecaster notes that slightly above-normal precipitation totals will "be a dramatic turnaround from the extreme drought conditions" the region saw throughout mid-October.
