While Vancouver is expected to see a few days of sunshine this week, the forecast also calls for some chilling overnight lows.
Starting on Wednesday, Environment Canada is forecasting sunshine and a high of 9°C, with evening temperatures dropping down to 1°C. Thursday is expected to see a mix of sun and cloud during the day, with periods of rain overnight.
Friday's forecast calls for rain, while Saturday is expected to be cloudy. In addition, the forecast calls for a chilling overnight low of -5°C.
Vancouver Is Awesome spoke to Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, about what the Lower Mainland has in store over the rest of the week and into the start of spring.
"Vancouver has a chance of flurries toward the end of the week as the temperatures dip down," he said. "On Saturday night, temperatures could fall to -5°C or possibly lower."
MacDonald stresses that it is difficult to give an exact forecast for temperatures on the weekend this far out, but adds that Vancouverites shouldn't put their gloves and toques away just yet.
"This kind of weather isn't typical for March — we're seeing temperatures that are more typical toward the end of January," he said. "In fact, we might even beat a record on Saturday of -5.6°C that was set in 1906."
While there is also a chance for snowfall this weekend, MacDonald states that there will likely be limited or no accumulations at lower elevations. With this being said, he said winter is far from over in the mountains, and anyone planning to travel to Whistler or on the Coquihalla will want to prepare for inclement weather.
Spring is also expected to be slightly cooler than average this year, and the snow pack is thicker than normal. As such, there is a potential for flooding when the snow pack thaws if the weather is cool and wet in the Lower Mainland.
