La Nina dumps first snow on Whistler

A heavy Pacific storm dumped 30 centimetres of snow on the top of the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort over the weekend, raising the hopes of local skiers and boarders that the La Nina weather climate pattern will bring plenty of snow this coming winter.

On Monday morning Environment Canada issued a weather warning for Vancouver, forecasting 50 millimetres of rain by Tuesday. The heavy rain has already forced Metro Vancouver officials to close the popular Grouse Grind hiking trail on Vancouver's North Shore on Monday morning.

But Whistler officials say the freezing level is expected to remain steady with more periods of snow forecast for this week on that mountain.

Some meteorologists are forecasting that a La Niña weather cycle for the Pacific Northwest will bring cooler temperatures and more snow than Whistler-Blackcomb's annual average of 10.25 meters, while others question the connection, saying there is no significant statistical link.

The La Nina pattern is the opposite of the more famous El Nino weather pattern that brought warm temperatures to Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics, washing the snow off some of the Olympic courses on the lower elevations of the Cypress Mountain resort closer to Vancouver.

But the El Nino also brought near record levels of snow to Whistler last winter, because the heavy precipitation fell as snow at the higher elevations at the resort, which is further north of Vancouver.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/10/25/bc-whistler-la-nina-snow.html#ixzz13PhJiFaI