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Greater Victoria braces for snowy blast

Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones said today’s weather could be “tricky
Snow Victoria
Six-year-old Tyler Henry destroys his snowman after a great effort of gathering the snow at Beacon Hill Park. The youngster took a day off school Monday and enjoyed a snow day with his parents.

Winter’s grip struck Greater Victoria last weekend, and more of the white stuff could blanket the region again today.

Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones said today’s weather could be “tricky.”

There is cold Arctic air moving out and a storm in the south over Seattle that could come our way. “It depends how much it creeps north of the border,” he said. “We’re tracking the storm closely and if it moves north, Victoria could get hammered.”

A snowfall warning was put in effect Monday morning, predicting accumulations of five centimetres for Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands.

“Any little weather system over cold air will produce snow,” said Jones.

“With snow, everyone is hypersensitive. If we’re having two to five centimetres of rain nobody cares if there’s five centimetres in Comox and two centimetres in Victoria – with snow – everybody can see it.”

“Snow always varies,” said Jones, adding that it is affected by a range of conditions.

Temperatures were predicted to stay below 4 C, dropping below zero overnight until Thursday, when the precipitation is expected to turn to a mix of rain and snow.

Flurries across the region began on Saturday, making roads slippery in some areas.