Snowfall warning for Fraser Valley, Hope

Snow is finally on its way to the Lower Mainland.

After months of above-average rainfall and almost no snow, Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a snowfall warning for the Fraser Valley.

The Fraser Valley, including Hope, are under the warning, with ECCC saying that five centimetres of snow are expected to accumulate beginning Friday afternoon.

“Easterly outflow winds will keep the surface temperatures below or near freezing today. Therefore, the incoming precipitation will fall as snow or wet snow from this afternoon to this evening,” Environment Canada said.

While snowfall is set to ease off later in the evening, ECCC says drivers and pedestrians should prepare for slippery highways, roads, sidewalks, and parking lots due to the snow.

“Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions,” the weather service stated.

The snowfall warning comes after ECCC confirmed on Friday that 2024 was the wettest year in Vancouver this century.

Environment Canada data shows that more than 1,300 millimetres of rain was recorded at Vancouver International Airport.

Records have been kept at the station since 1937, and ECCC meteorologist Chris Doyle explained the most reliable record year for rainfall was in 1997 when more than 1,500 millimetres fell in the region.

Last year’s precipitation amount was the highest in Vancouver since 1999.

Doyle explained the rain was in part caused by an “enhanced East Asian jet stream” across the Pacific Ocean that persisted for weeks, carrying a number of storms to the B.C. coast.

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