Siberian Express into the West Next Week
I am getting more confident in my forecast for brutal cold across the western half of Canada next week.
A strong ridge of high pressure aloft over the NE Pacific will force the bitter cold southward into BC and the Prairies starting early next week as the steering flow remains out of the northwest, which cuts off the milder, Pacific air into western Canada.
This type of pattern also means any storms or fronts that come into BC will be colder and drier than usual, but overall the pattern result in much less precipitation than normal the next two weeks.
As the cold air moves into SW BC (right now that looks like Tuesday night or so) we may get a period of accumulating snow into the Vancouver area, but the actual track of the storm along the front will be critical and it is too early to know for sure.
By the way, the latest GFS model for what it is worth has daytime temperatures several degrees below freezing Wednesday afternoon in Vancouver, BC.
How cold are we talking?
The latest GFS surface temperature forecast (degrees C) may end up fairly close. Check out the images below from our AccuWeather pro site. Large and closeup.
With the strong ridge of high pressure remaining over the NE Pacific the next two weeks it will be tough to see any sustained cold into the East. The main storm track will be up into the Midwest/Great Lakes. There may be some weaker storms closer to the East Coast with narrow bands of accumulating snow, but cold air will be limited for widespread, heavy snowfall through at least the 12th.
I greatly appreciate all the ski resort advice. A lot to think about now.
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My twitter (BrettAWX) account is now online. Here is the link. Feel free to check it out. Great response so far.
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