Vancouver could see single-digit temperatures as fall arrives

Vancouver could see overnight temperatures fall into the single digits early next week as autumn weather takes hold, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The city is already in meteorological fall, with the autumn equinox set for Sept. 22. This weekend is expected to bring a chance of showers, daytime highs near 19°C and overnight lows of 13°C. Gusts could reach 50 km/h.

Saturday and Sunday could still be pleasant during the day, but the forecast calls for less sunshine on Monday. Overnight temperatures could begin a cooling trend that night, dropping to 9°C.

A warmer-than-usual fall and winter remains possible with the approaching Super El Niño, although warmer conditions are not necessarily beneficial. Similar patterns in recent years have brought unusually warm autumn temperatures, including in October 2022, when parts of B.C. broke heat records that had stood for 100 years.

OpenSnow, a U.S. company that provides weather forecasts, snow reports, high-resolution weather maps and ski conditions, said in an early seasonal outlook that much of B.C. is favoured to receive below-average snowfall because of warmer temperatures and a more southerly storm track. That outlook makes a white Christmas less likely.

Rising global temperatures caused by human-driven climate change could make such weather patterns more common and increase the likelihood of rockfalls and landslides in the coming years.