Old Man Winter returned with a vengeance Monday and he’s obviously not much of a family guy.
The crusty curmudgeon brought with him a record 30 centimetres of snow and windy conditions that created drifts and made driving hazardous, bringing misery to Prince George people on Family Day.
The sun has returned as the city digs out from the big storm and Environment Canada is warning people to protect themselves from the elements for at least the next three days with low temperatures and high windchills in store for much of northern B.C.
The storm on Monday was caused by moist air from the Pacific colliding with a cold front from the north and it affected much of the Interior of B.C. as it tracked southeast into southern Alberta.
“We ended up with the region receiving around 30 centimetres of snow is a short span of 12 hours of so and with the colder air and windy conditions last night there was a lot of drifting of the fresh powdery snow and because of that, local areas might have received more accumulations,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee.
“That was the wettest day on record (dating back to 1913),”
Today’s high of -14 C will feel much colder, with a windchill of -25 in store for the city., dropping to -38 C by the evening. When it’s that cold and windy there is a risk of frostbite, so cover up exposed flesh if you intend to be outside for a prolonged period.
Wednesday’s predicted low will dip to -25 C and the predicted low for Thursday in -29 C. Under clear skies, high temperatures Wednesday-Friday will range from -16 C to -13 C and there is a thaw in the forecast, but more snow is expected on Friday, which could bring accumulations of between five and 10 cm.
It’s expected to warm up to -5 C on Saturday, -2 C on Sunday and -5 C on Monday.
Lee said after this week’s cold spell, temperatures should return closer to normal for this time of year, which is a high of 0 C and low of -10 C.
After a mild and dry January, February has been wetter than normal. Monday’s storm and another 30 cm dump on Feb. 2 piled up the snow around the city.
If you’re getting sick of winter, spring officially arrives in Prince George on Monday, March 20 at 2:34 p.m.
