When you hear the term “dry January,” a lack of rain doesn’t normally come to mind.
However, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada, this January is trending to be one of Metro Vancouver’s five driest Januaries on record.
“We’ve only recorded 33.5 mm so far this month, and the average monthly total should be around 168 mm or more,” says Derek Lee, meteorologist with Environment Canada.
That deficit is unlikely to be made up within the few remaining days in January, he added. The dry weather comes due to a persistent ridge of high pressure over southern B.C.
“It actually diverts the storm tracks more to the north of B.C., so that really explains why January for southern B.C. in particular has been lacking in precipitation,” Lee said.
Rain is in the forecast for Metro Vancouver later this week, and that means snow for the North Shore mountains. However, even with the precipitation, it will still leave this month one of the driest Januaries recorded.
After a lack of snow in the mountains, Wendy Lewis from Avalanche Canada said the avalanche danger is expected to increase following the expected precipitation.
“It has been quite dry, we’ve had very low snowfall amounts this month, and it’s not great for riding conditions, but it has resulted in overall low avalanche danger ratings,” Lewis said.
“We’re expecting snowfall to return to the coast on Thursday and continue right through the weekend. When there’s any major change in weather, avalanche danger typically increases as well.”
As for residents of Metro Vancouver – the lack of rain should not affect anyone.
“We closely monitor our snowpack and our weather conditions throughout the year, and we make adjustments to how we’re storing water for the summer as the conditions change,” says Heidi Walsh, director of watersheds and environment in Metro Vancouver.
Walsh said the dry spell should serve as a reminder to not waste water.
