Light flurries that drifted into parts of Vancouver Wednesday morning did not meet the bar for the city’s first official snowfall of the season, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. Meteorologist Colin Fong said snowflakes fell for around an hour at Vancouver International Airport—the local observation site—but did not reach the minimum of one centimetre of accumulation required to register as “measurable” snowfall. Fong described the conditions as an “isolated band” of snow, which resulted in a light dusting in several areas of Vancouver, including downtown and Kitsilano. “If you go further east, they saw nothing,” he added. “We’re not looking at this big, well-defined frontal system that we typically see in winter, this is just a little cell.” The meteorologist noted there could be additional snow Wednesday as cold air continues causing unsettled conditions over the city, but it’s unlikely to be heavy enough to accumulate with temperatures above freezing. A more substantial blast of winter weather that caught Vancouverites off guard in early January also melted too quickly to be considered measurable. There are no signs of a significant Arctic front blowing toward the region through the end of February, according to Environment Canada, increasing the chances of a rare snow-free winter. “We’re still in the winter months, make no mistake, so the possibility of Arctic air will continue,” Fong said. “But as we march toward spring, the chances of that become less and less.” The last time Vancouver went an entire winter without measurable snow was 1982-83.
