The thaw and freeze cycle can leave behind some messy conditions, like here on Rutherford Rd. at the Island Hwy. intersection where the sidewalk is buried under snow and ice. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

song of ice and snow

Freeze-thaw cycle can make for some unique and hazardous conditions

Nov 30, 2022 | 2:58 PM

NANAIMO — The first big winter storm blast of the season touched down on the mid-Island Tuesday, with potentially more on the horizon.

Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee said their station at the Nanaimo Airport saw between 10 to 15 centimetres of snow, which became a slushy, icy mess thanks to temperature fluctuations.

He said a system like this is pretty typical for this time of year but what was unusual was the speed and impact of the wind.

“This pattern will generate pretty strong southeast winds along the Strait of Georgia. However, when this happens it’s usually warmer, so it would normally be rainy and windy at the same time. It’s very rare we’d get snow on top of strong southeast winds.”

Temperatures were sitting at four degrees around noon on Wednesday, Nov. 30 which helped clear up roadways.

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However a pending freeze is in the forecast.

On Wednesday morning, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement warning of similar weather patterns in the forecast for Thursday, Dec. 1 and Friday, Dec. 2.

Lee told NanaimoNewsNOW could be the result of a system coming in from the Pacific and colliding with the cold air.

The type of precipitation we’ll see will largely depend on the amount of warm air getting into the area by Friday.

“It can be similar to what we saw during (Tuesday’s) storm, but we’re looking at the current start time of the event for Friday, mainly in the afternoon. So if it does fall in the afternoon, there’s a higher chance of seeing a mixed bag of precipitation instead of just straight snow.”

While no official snowfall records were reached, Lee said any snowfall on the Island tends to get people talking.

“Every time snow falls, I think everyone is just glued to it because it causes great havoc in the south coast, but definitely the Nanaimo area has seen more than 10 to 15 centimetres of snow even at this time of year.”

Winter driving and surrounding conditions are expected to persist through the weekend for Nanaimo and Oceanside.

Despite high accumulations in the region, other parts of Vancouver Island got more.

Port Alberni saw 24 centimetres of the white stuff fall on Tuesday, beaten only by North Courtenay where 25 centimetres hit the ground.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow