It’s quite likely we’ll be hit by some heavy rain starting tomorrow and continuing into Sunday.
Environment Canada meteorologist, Lisa Erven, says just how much rain you get over that 48 hour period will depend on where you live.
“For Campbell River, it’s sort of on the northern edge of this plume of moisture so we’re looking at about 25, 30 millimetres total but then as you move down into Courtenay, Comox, you’re looking at 40 to 50 (millimetres),” she said.
“Over onto the Sunshine Coast for the more northern parts up by Powell River, we’re looking at rainfall amounts in the sort of 40-to-50 millimetre range and then the further south you head, we do have a rainfall warning in effect for Sechelt, and Gibsons, where we could see anywhere from 75 to 100 millimetres of rain.”
She expects the wet stuff to peter out sometime Sunday morning… with a short-lived break at the start of the next work week.
Erven predicts the main event to start as early as tonight in Port Hardy before hitting the east side of the island and Sunshine Coast tomorrow morning.
“We have an atmospheric river event lining up,” she said. “That’s just a fancy term for essentially a giant firehose being pointed at the south coast, so it’s a narrow band of intense moisture and it’s these kinds of events that result in heavy rainfall.”
She says there are some indications that the storm will wobble north and south throughout this 48-hour event, giving periods of heavy rainfall to some communities and even more sustained heavy rain to others.
She added that you need to stay extra vigilant and stay tuned to the local forecast if you plan on recreating or travelling this weekend.
