A moisture-laden Pacific system is expected to bring widespread heavy rain and possible flooding impacts to Metro Vancouver starting Monday, Sept. 28.
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Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver beginning Monday, Sept. 28, with precipitation expected to affect the south coast and Lower Mainland as a moisture-laden system moves in from the Pacific.
ECCC meteorologist Jennifer Kowal said the wet weather will start building Monday morning, with increasing cloud cover, and that rain should begin by around 4 p.m. Monday and continue into Tuesday.
The federal agency is forecasting a widespread average of about 50 mm of rain, while areas with topographic enhancement could see substantially higher totals, including up to 70 mm near Burnaby Mountain and the North Shore mountains.
Alongside the rainfall, ECCC is also warning of strong and gusty southeasterly winds during the overnight period, a combination that can worsen conditions on roads and increase the risk of water pooling.
ECCC warned that water is likely to pool in low-lying areas and on roads, creating conditions that may lead to a significant impact on rush hour traffic as Monday and Tuesday unfold.
Kowal noted that some clearing is expected momentarily on Wednesday, Sept. 30, but additional showers could return afterward.
A second, weaker system is expected to move in late on Thursday, with possible additional precipitation, as fall weather patterns continue to produce frequent overcast conditions across the Lower Mainland.
Temperatures accompanying the warning are forecast to be mild for late September: a high of 15 C on Monday, rising to 20 C over the weekend, with overnight lows through the week generally hovering between 9 C and 12 C.
The rain outlook comes during the transition to autumn, when ECCC said systems swirling off the coast of British Columbia can contribute to more persistent cloud cover over the Lower Mainland, even as rain intensity and timing shift over several days.
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