Vancouver's weather will start out wet this week, but just as we get to the weekend the sun will be breaking through.
That'll bring temperatures up to the mid- or high-teens near the water, says Environment Canada meteorologist Gary Dickinson, while areas further inland will be "flirting with 20 C" thanks to a ridge of high pressure.
"That'll bring in some warm air from California and the west coast of the US," he tells Vancouver Is Awesome.
But first, the city will be getting some showers.
"There's a frontal system approaching the Metro Vancouver area tomorrow, that'll bring some rain and some stronger winds," says Dickinson.
Unsettled weather will hang around through to Wednesday, Dickinson says, with showers and rain on and off from Monday to Wednesday. Temperatures around Vancouver will be stable and near the normal for this time of year, with highs around 9 or 10 C and lows bottoming out around 2 C.
Thursday is the day things change.
"It looks like it could be a 50/50 mix on Thursday," says Dickinson about cloud cover in the region.
That means less, or no, rain and temperatures starting to sneak up. By Friday nice weather should be stable.
"Things really warm up on Friday," says Dickinson.
While the normal high for this time of year is around 10 C, it should be at least 15 C, and higher the further you are from the ocean, he explains.
"It's going to be quite the nice change," he adds.
Saturday and Sunday are expected to follow suit with highs up in the mid-to high-teens at local beaches, with temperatures rising the further you are from the ocean.
While the sun will be out and warming Vancouver's neighbourhoods, it's not going to be at full power. Evenings are predicted to cool down to between 5 C and 8 C, which could feel cold after such a warm day, but is still abnormally high. The normal is 3 C.
"It's still spring," says Dickinson "The nights are long, the land is still cool and the mountains still have some snow. There are sources of things that could cool the temperatures down."
The spring equinox is March 19, so while the sun is gaining strength, the warming power it has on Vancouver is still lower compared to April, May or June.
Melting levels rise on ski hills
For those looking to hit the hill before the snow leaves again, it may be an idea to hit the slopes mid-week.
With the high temperatures comes a higher freezing level. Dickinson says the expectation is for it to be above 3,000 m come next weekend. The highest peaks in the North Shore Mountains are under 2,000 m, and the ski hills are all on mountains under 1,500 m.
