Important changes to British Columbia weather forecast regions

Residents of British Columbia know that weather conditions can vary widely over relatively short distances. For example, while one community observes rain another nearby higher elevation community can see snow or freezing rain. To address this variability and provide British Columbians with more representative and accurate weather information, Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologists will now have the ability to issue weather forecasts and alerts for more detailed regions. It is worth noting that when similar weather conditions are expected across the smaller regions, they will be grouped into the larger forecast region and have identical forecasts.

More targeted alerts

With the new smaller forecast regions, meteorologists will now be able to issue more targeted alerts. For example, instead of issuing a heavy rainfall warning for all of Metro Vancouver, we can now focus our warnings for specific sub regions such as the North Shore and Northeastern sections of Metro Vancouver.

Changes to the forecast regions have also resulted in changes to some of our Canadian Locator Codes (CLC). CLC codes can be used to program weather radios.

New forecast regions

The following six weather forecast regions have been subdivided into smaller regions:

1. Metro Vancouver
2. East Vancouver Island
3. Fraser Valley
4. Fraser Canyon
5. Sunshine Coast
6. North Coast - Inland

Metro Vancouver

Previously, all municipalities within Metro Vancouver received the same weather forecasts and alerts. We now have the ability to provide more detailed forecasts and targeted alerts for the five following smaller regions:

• City of Vancouver: including Burnaby and New Westminster
• North Shore: including West Vancouver and North Vancouver
• Metro Vancouver: northeast including Coquitlam and Maple Ridge
• Metro Vancouver: southwest including Richmond and Delta
• Metro Vancouver: southeast including Surrey and Langley

The following weather forecast webpages have been added to our website for the Metro Vancouver area:

• West Vancouver
• Richmond
• Langley

The following are existing weather forecast pages:

• Vancouver
• Pitt Meadows
• White Rock

Please ensure to update your bookmarks so that you are receiving the most relevant forecasts and are aware of alerts issued for your area.

East Vancouver Island

The East Vancouver Island forecast region previously extended from south of Duncan all the way to north of Campbell River. Issuing a single weather forecast that covered all the expected weather conditions across such a vast area had often been a challenge for our meteorologists. In response to requests from the public and to provide more accurate forecasts for the communities along eastern Vancouver Island, we are now providing forecasts and alerts for the following three smaller regions:

• East Vancouver Island: Courtenay to Campbell River
• East Vancouver Island: Nanoose Bay to Fanny Bay
• East Vancouver Island: Duncan to Nanaimo

The following weather forecast webpages have been added to our website for the East Vancouver Island region:

• Duncan
• Qualicum Beach

The following are existing weather forecast pages:

• Campbell River
• Courtenay
• Comox
• Nanaimo

Please ensure to update your bookmarks so that you are receiving the most relevant forecasts and are aware of alerts issued for your area.

Fraser Valley

The Fraser Valley forecast region extends from Abbotsford to Hope and is often subdivided into two sections: western Fraser Valley including Abbotsford and eastern Fraser Valley including Hope. Weather conditions along the west-east valley are often very different particularly between Chilliwack and Hope. We have created a new “Fraser Valley - central including Chilliwack” forecast region so that our forecasts are more reflective of conditions in the central Fraser valley. The Fraser Valley will now have the following three regions:

• Fraser Valley: west including Abbotsford
• Fraser Valley: east including Hope
• Fraser Valley: central including Chilliwack

The following are existing weather forecast pages:

• Abbotsford
• Chilliwack
• Agassiz
• Hope

Fraser Canyon

The Fraser Canyon forecast region previously extended from Yale in the south to Lillooet in the north. Typically, climate conditions are much wetter over southern sections so we have now divided the region into the following two smaller regions:

• Fraser Canyon: north including Lillooet
• Fraser Canyon: south including Lytton

The following are existing weather forecast pages:

• Lillooet
• Lytton

Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast forecast region previously extended from Gibsons in the south to Lund in the north. In order to provide more accurate forecasts for the two sections of the Sunshine Coast separated by Jervis Inlet, the region has been separated into the two following smaller regions:

• Sunshine Coast: Gibsons to Earls Cove
• Sunshine Coast: Saltery Bay to Powell River

The following are existing weather forecast pages:

• Powell River
• Sechelt
• Gibsons

North Coast - Inland

Weather conditions over inland sections of the North Coast were previously covered by one large forecast region extending from Kitimat in the south up to Stewart in the north. In an effort to provide more tailored forecasts and alerts for the various communities, the region has been subdivided into the three following smaller regions:

• North Coast: inland including Stewart
• North Coast: inland including Terrace
• North Coast: inland including Kitimat

The following are existing weather forecast pages:

• Stewart
• Terrace
• Kitimat

New Canadian Locator Codes (CLC)