AccuWeather.com reports it’s going to be a cold winter across a chunk of western Canada thanks to La Niña. Several arctic air masses should come down through British Columbia and Alberta. The report says this winter could be one of the top three coldest winters in the past 20 years for parts of B.C. and Alberta.
La Niña is a phenomenon that occurs when sea surface temperatures across the equatorial central and eastern Pacific are below normal. The phenomenon often produces extreme cold outbreaks across western Canada during the winter due to the influence it has on the jet stream. Snowfall tends to be greater across Ontario and Quebec in a La Niña winter, while there’s almost always unusually dry winter weather along the West Coast during weak and moderate La Niñas.
What about the snow?
You’ll see some forecasts predicting a cold, snowy winter in B.C., AccuWeather.com says it’s either one or the other. Cold air doesn’t hold moisture very well. If it’s going to be snowy, especially in western parts of B.C., it’s usually not going to be terribly cold, especially in the mountains.