The month of March is a time of transition, typically marked by a colder start and a warmer end as we enter the spring season. In Metro Vancouver, that means layering up and staying dry, and gearing up for all things cherry blossoms.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Mother Nature may continue to surprise us with a mixed bag of weather conditions – so let’s get into it.
In an interview with Curiocity, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Armel Castellan with the ECCC explains that the latest guidance for March as a whole reveals a “warming trend later in the month,” but only after dipping into a “cooler trend” first.
End of February weather forecast
As for the final week of February, Castellan reveals that Metro Vancouverites can expect “two or three pulses of precipitation, including snow for the BC interior.” It’s possible that even southern Vancouver Island could see some snow early next week in higher elevations, so don’t pack away your snow gear just yet.
“February has been close to seasonal so far, even a little bit on the warmer side for Vancouver by half a degree,” says Castellan. “However, winter is not over, and we’re going to likely see a big wind and snow event for major highway systems next week.”
While residents shouldn’t anticipate any dramatic cold snaps as we saw in mid-January, it’s possible that Metro Vancouver will see some flurries on Monday, February 26th and Tuesday, February 27th, with temperature highs dipping slightly from 10°C to 11°C to 6°C to 9°C in the upcoming week.
Early March weather forecast
According to the ECCC, the start of March will see a “continuation of the cooler temperatures observed at the end of February.”
While BC made “low-temperature records” back in mid-January, December 2023 was “the warmest on record” throughout much of the province. So as of now, “we’re looking at a degree or so above what’s seasonal for the south coast for March,” says Castellan.
By the second week of March, we should start to see a “climb out of the unseasonably cold weather into unseasonably warm temperatures,” explains Castellan.
As for rain forecasting, he says that “the signal is not extremely clear” at this time. However, the next seven days look “relatively dry for coastal BC,” when looking at precipitation anomalies.
Overall, more rain in the first week of March “is the most likely scenario,” according to Castellan. So stay tuned for updated forecasts provided by the ECCC.
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Shift to spring
As for incoming spring buds, Metro Vancouverites may have already noticed a couple of early blooms popping up in their neighbourhoods. So rest assured that spring is on its way!
“The start of March is typically warmer than the first two-thirds of winter, which is why we consider the first of March to be the start of the next season,” says Castellan. “Typically, we see colder temperatures at the start of the month than we do at the end of the month, so our bodies may feel a pretty big shift in temperature.”
As such, it’s important to check in on more vulnerable neighbours and loved ones as the shift in seasons unfolds, particularly from late spring to early summer.
So there you have it, Metro Vancouver. It’s time to layer up and brave the rain and cold ahead of us, so we can hopefully enjoy the milder spring weather to come.
