Vancouver dusted with earliest measurable snowfall since 1991

The blast of wintry weather that blew through B.C.'s Lower Mainland this week marked the earliest measurable snowfall recorded in Vancouver in decades.

Environment and Climate Change Canada confirmed 1.2 cm of snowfall was recorded at the Vancouver International Airport weather station on Monday – an unusual dose of winter weather for this early in November.

Meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau told CTV News she had to go all the way back to 1991 to find records of measurable snowfall earlier in the fall. There was 2 cm recorded at YVR on Oct. 28 of that year.

"I remember that, because I think there was still snow for Halloween," Charbonneau said.

She noted that Vancouver's records only capture snowfall at the airport, and that there could have been earlier snow more recently than the 1990s in higher elevation areas.

"With the airport being at sea level, it tends to be warmer than some parts of Metro Vancouver," Charbonneau added.

Some Vancouverites might remember seeing snow on Nov. 3, 2017, though it wasn’t enough to make Environment Canada’s records.

While it's not that unusual for Vancouver to see snowfall in November, Charbonneau said it's usually in the second half of the month.

On social media, many people were delighted to see a light dusting of snow this week – but others found the snowfall alarming, particularly coming so soon after the unseasonably warm and dry conditions that stretched from the end of summer into October.

"Just turned from summer to winter in less than 2 weeks," Twitter user Justin Chan wrote. "Usually the first snow is magical, but not this year."

Charbonneau acknowledged the snowfall feels like a "big swing" from the conditions that were recorded last month, and which led to droughts and an extended wildfire season, but said wild swings are actually more or less normal.

"The weather swings between different patterns and extremes all the time," the meteorologist said.

According to Environment Canada, there was about one cm of accumulated snow by the end of Monday at YVR airport, but other regions likely saw more – including Burnaby Mountain, where social media videos captured scenes of a winter wonderland in the mid-afternoon.

Forecasters are expecting temperatures in the region to remain chilly for the next few days before warming up a bit at the end of the week.