A drought that has been over Vancouver Island and the B.C. coast is looking like it will catch a break with the first rainfalls forecasted in weeks.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasts as of Tuesday, periods of rain are being predicted for Friday, Sunday and Monday.
Meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau says seeing the rain on the radar is a welcome sight.
“Despite the fact that many people enjoy the sunshine and we don’t often long for rain here in the south coast of B.C., it has been an incredibly dry stretch and rain is badly needed,” said Charbonneau. “We are anticipating this shift to more typical fall-like weather beginning on Friday, with a bit of relief.”
Charbonneau says we can expect between five to 20 millimetres of rain on Friday with a break on Saturday. Sunday will bring another round of rain that could see up to 25 or 30 millimetres.
“In general, these first few storms are not looking particularly heavy for rain at this point,” said Charbonneau.
The small amount of rain in some ways is a good thing, according to Charbonneau. The lack of rain has left the ground very dry and too much rain could cause unwanted flooding.
However, more rain is needed to recover from the drought. A shift in the weather is expected, and Charbonneau says we should start getting ready for the change.
“A lot of leaves have fallen and so it’s definitely still worthwhile looking around, clearing any drains and preparing for a shift in the weather pattern,” said Charbonneau. “After the system on Friday and looking into next week this is a pattern that is continuing.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada says they are still expecting a La Niña weather pattern.
They are hopeful this weather pattern continues into November but they will not know until October comes nearer to a close.
