Snow flurries in May?
You can’t be serious.
Believe it. It was happening in parts of Prince George Friday morning where rain mixed with snow to get everybody collectively cursing under their breath about how cold and nasty it is for this time of year.
Today we’re heading for a whopping high of 5 C under solid cloud cover that’s covering most of the province - the result of a low pressure system that’s stalled over Alberta.
The unseasonably cold weather is going to continue at least until Tuesday, so try to remain optimistic. Eventually, it is going to warm up. With summer solstice only about six weeks away, we’re still waiting for the first extended blast of warm air from the south. But with the mercury in P.G. down to just 2 C at 11 a.m. Friday, summer weather seems far away.
“Two degrees is pretty cold, normal for this period is around 16 C,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Yimei Li. “Whenever there's precipitation the daytime temperature doesn’t increase a lot because of the cloud cover and it’s going to stay pretty cold today.
“It’s not just Prince George, the entire B.C. has been under this colder air mass, not just this month but back in April. Right now, the main weather feature in Western Canada is this low-pressure system in Alberta that’s sticking around at least until early next week. That’s actually blocking any warmer air from coming into B.C.”
Saturday will probably be the best day of the weekend for people in the north central Interior, weather-wise, with a high of 12 C expected under a mix of sun and clouds. That’s good news for track and field athletes gathering for the Prince George Track and Field Club’s Sub-Zero Meet Saturday at Masich Place Stadium. Rain is predicted for Sunday with a 60 per cent chance and a high on 8 C. Gardeners might want to cover up any tender plants with a low of -2 C expected overnight Sunday.
Monday will also be cool with a high of 6 C and a low of 3 C. By Tuesday the clouds will start to break and highs of 12-14 C are predicted through Thursday.
“It will take some time for it to warm up and maybe it will be a bit warmer late next week, but beyond six days it’s really hard to say what it’s going to do, but there are some signs that next weekend it could warm up quite a bit,” said Li.
We can only hope.
The low overnight at Vancouver Airport was 7 C, the lowest it’s been in two decades at this time of year. Kelowna’s expected high for Saturday is only 11 C, nearly 10 degrees cooler than normal.
