The Griz has heard the Elk Valley’s prayers and is set to deliver more snow over the coming days.
Environment Canada is predicting flurries from Wednesday evening as a high pressure ridge shifts away from the region.
Meteorologist Doug Lundquist could not confirm sightings of local legend The Griz on his radar but said snow is on the way.
“We’ve been under a ridge of high pressure now and that’s kept it quite dry for the last week or two, and that whole pattern is changing starting basically today (Wednesday) and specifically over Thursday and Friday we’ll start to see systems moving in from the coast that will probably give more precipitation to that Southeast Kootenays there and that likely means more snow,” he said.
On Thursday, expect a few flurries in the morning followed by cloudy conditions with a 40 per cent chance of flurries, a high of 3C and low of -2C.
In total, Environment Canada is predicting 2cm of snow in Fernie on Thursday.
While the forecast currently promises sunshine over the weekend, Lundquist says that may not be the case.
“Even though we’re forecasting a lot of sun right now through the weekend and into early next week, I wouldn’t be surprised if our forecast doesn’t change a little bit as we start to see that westerly flow coming in now, and that ridge moving off,” he said.
“We’ll perhaps have some of those days showing up more as cloudy in the upcoming forecast and more chance of snow.”
The fresh snow will be welcomed by Fernie Alpine Resort, which is scheduled to open for winter on November 30.
Higher falls are predicted at the ski hill this week, with 13cm expected on the ridge Thursday, 2cm Friday and 1cm Saturday.
The resort has so far received 99cm of snow this season.
Lundquist said skiers and snowboarders shouldn’t be worried about the lack of snow on the ground at this time of year.
“Usually early season snowfall in southern B.C. is somewhat random and usually when we get to about the Christmas season it starts to set up into a pattern where we get more snow,” he said.
To get the latest weather forecast, visit Environment Canada.
