Remember how the 1980s mullet was ‘business in the front, party in the back’?
Well, Squamish’s weather is currently a bit like that.
It is spring-ish down below and winter up top.
It was a cool April, and so far a chillier than normal May says Squamish meteorologist Jason Ross.
“In April.... the average high for the entire month was 12.9 C. The average low was 1.7 C,” he said. “Last year, over the month of April, we had an average high of 16 C, and an average low [of] 3.6 C. So it was a little different.”
Ross explained what we experienced over the past couple of months is the lingering effects of La Niña.
“La Niña weather is caused by cooler than average temperatures of the sea surface that [are] affecting the jet stream,” he told The Squamish Chief.
He said while it is still a bit early to say anything definitive about May, thus far, it has been cooler than usual.
For the first 12 days of the month, the average high was 14 C, the low was 7 C, he said.
He said the other thing for locals and tourists to note is that in the alpine, the snow is still falling and sticking.
“It was still snowing at the gondola last night (May 12). So at 1,000 feet, you can get snow. You don’t have to go very high and there’s quite a bit of snow. At Garibaldi Park, Elfin Lakes and up towards Rubble Creek, there’s a ton of snow and you can get yourself into trouble very quickly if you’re not prepared.”
Looking ahead
“The cooler temperatures will likely last in the early summer,” Ross said, noting it is hard to predict the weather with any confidence more than a few days out.
“June can still be pretty wet for the coast, so my bet would be heading into July and August months is when we’ll finally see some warmer temperatures and sunshine.”
Low pressure system offshore will bring a chance of showers over the South Coast this afternoon. A weak ridge of high pressure will build this evening into Tuesday with some clearing. Potential strong for May front moving through Wednesday with windy conditions and rain #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/4Pko4mCXmb
— Jason Ross (@Squamishweather) May 16, 2022
