Plenty of snow and extreme cold temperatures are in store this week for the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District.
At 10:00 this morning (Monday), Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Houston and Burns Lake with ten centimetres of snow expected to fall over the next 24 hours.
While no warning is in effect for the Smithers area, about seven centimeters of snow is expected to continue falling during the same period.
After the snow, temperatures are expected to drop before the weekend according to Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Armel Castellan.
“The conditions are going to get significantly cooler than the typical –6 daytime high, -13 nighttime lows. We’ll be reaching down to –29, -30 on Thursday into Friday.”
The daytime isn’t fairing any better with highs expected to be in the –20-degree range for the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District.
This is after the region recorded its 12th warmest December on record.
Castellan added this cold period isn’t expected to trigger an extreme cold warning, but wind chill could change that.
“The values need to get down to –35 for more locations in the Central Interior to hit an extreme cold warning. Getting down to –30 doesn’t quite hit criteria but with the wind chill, it is not impossible to get down to that threshold.”
He added residents should make sure their emergency kits at home and in their vehicles are ready in case of a power outage or being stranded on the highway.
“We know people in the north are extremely resilient in direct contrast to the folks in the south and bigger cities but always a good reminder to be ready for a period of time where temperatures are significantly below normal.”
It’s also advised to reach out to others and check in during these colder periods.
A full forecast for the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District can be found on the Environment Canada website.
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