A washed out bridge at the Carolin Mine interchange on the Coquihalla Freeway last November. BC could see more rainfall and cooler-than-normal days moving into the fall months, according to a new long-range weather forecast. In its fall forecast released Wednesday, AccuWeather forecasters predict La Niña will affect the location of the jet stream this fall, changing the overall atmospheric pattern over B.C. “An active Pacific storm track is expected to head into British Columbia this fall, which will favor above-normal rainfall and cloudier, cooler days,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. Unprecedented rainfall in the southern part of the province last November caused devastating floods and landslides, which forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in many communities, caused millions of dollars in damage and killed thousands of animals in the Fraser Valley. But while above-average rainfall is forecast this coming autumn, Anderson says a repeat of last year is highly unlikely, although “other heavy rainfall events cannot be ruled out this autumn”. Anderson says because of the location of the jet stream, arctic air is predicted to affect parts of Western Canada in the coming months. “Colder than normal air across Canada is expected in northwestern Canada, specifically northern British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and the western part of the Northwest Territories,” Anderson said, noting that could lead to earlier start of snow. season in the Coastal and Rocky Mountains. Anderson notes that cooler temperatures and increased precipitation could help suppress wildfires as the days get shorter. A cooler and wetter spring and early summer this year helped BC’s fire season, compared to a record wildfire season in the Thompson-Okanagan in 2021.
