A Tuesday morning snowfall warning for the Courtenay and Campbell River areas and a Monday dump of snow in parts of the north Island are not the spring-like conditions most people have been expecting.
Campbell River received about three centimetres of snow Tuesday and Comox saw hail.
“At elevation on Monday, even people in Duncan were seeing the snowline was low,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan. “The webcams were showing a few parts of the highway system there white at times.
“It’s low freezing levels, for sure.”
Spring weather is often “hugely variable” and can run hot and cold, he said.
“Spring is kind of harking back to winter a little, but then it can do the opposite.”
While the recent blasts of snow were “a bit late,” there was similar weather this time last year, Castellan said.
Lightning was also seen in a number of spots Monday night, including Lantzville, Lake Cowichan and Cortes and Quadra islands, and there is risk of a thunderstorm on the Malahat Wednesday afternoon
The current run of cool temperatures is coming from an offshore low-pressure system bringing in cold air from the north, Castellan said.
That air won’t move away very quickly at this point because the jet stream is weak, he said.
The current average for daily temperatures in the Victoria area is 14 C highs and 5 C lows, but recent daily maximums have been around 9 and 10 C.
“We will not be approaching 14 degrees until the weekend,” Castellan said.
Showers will dominate through next Monday, with a break expected Wednesday night and part of Thursday.
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