A parade of storms is headed to the Lower Mainland and power outages are possible on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.
Environment Canada Meteorologist Chris Doyle tells V.I.A. that Monday's forecast (Dec. 23) includes mostly dry weather, with a mix of sun and cloud and some patchy fog throughout the day.
A low-pressure system is expected to begin impacting Vancouver Island Monday afternoon, with strong winds increasing into the evening. Metro Vancouver won't be affected by the storm until later Monday night, with places near the water experiencing winds gusting 50 to 60 km/h. However, the wind event should "be over before the sun rises," Doyle explains.
"The storm has a widespread impact but we get the tail end of it," he adds.
Environment Canada has issued wind warnings for regions where severe impacts may occur.
Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes significant windstorm
Conditions are expected to settle during the day on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, allowing travellers better conditions for ferry sailings between the Lower Mainland Vancouver Island.
"Christmas Eve looks primarily dry with variable skies and the odd chance of a sprinkle here and there. Overall, it looks pretty nice," the meteorologist says.
Christmas Day's forecast includes the stormiest conditions, with winds increasing southwest in the morning and picking up around noon. Heavy rainfall with 3 to 5 mm/hr rates is expected to fall through the afternoon and into the evening.
"Power outages are possible but it doesn't look as bad as the Nov. 18 and 19 storm that had hundreds of thousands of outages," he notes.
Still, Doyle advises locals to "start cooking their turkeys early" to avoid issues with possible power outages later in the day.
The heavy rain should ease to showers in the early evening and continue through the night, tapering off on Boxing Day around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. Sunshine is expected after this.
Doyle says a final storm should start impacting the Lower Mainland late Thursday and Friday morning. This weaker low-pressure system should spread strong winds overnight across Vancouver Island and the south coast. However, it isn't expected to be as strong as the storm on Christmas Day.
Stay up-to-date with hyperlocal forecasts across 50 neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland with V.I.A.'s Weatherhood.
