{"id":495734,"date":"2026-02-24T06:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/495734\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T06:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:42:10","slug":"storm-dumps-108-centimetres-of-snow-on-vancouver-islands-mount-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/495734\/","title":{"rendered":"Storm dumps 108 centimetres of snow on Vancouver Island’s Mount Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

The mood was jubilant at Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island after a weekend storm saw 108 centimetres of snow blanket the resort.<\/p>\n

The snow was a welcome reprieve from the warm and wet weather<\/a> that started the season and skiers say it\u2019s been the best conditions of the season yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jane Mepham and her friend Dana Peters both have season passes for Mount Washington and live in nearby Courtenay. <\/p>\n

Mepham says the pair were eagerly monitoring the webcams and forecast all weekend, and were excited to be out on the mountain Monday after a slow start to the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came up on opening day this year and put some good scratches on our skis, then we tried again over Christmas,\u201d said Mepham.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s definitely the best day of the season. I had faith that it would come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JaneJane Mepham and her friend Dana Peters said that Monday was absolutely the best skiing conditions of the season. (Submitted by Jane Mepham)<\/p>\n

Mepham and Peters weren’t the only skiers happy to see snow, with vehicles lined up along Strathcona Parkway to get to the resort, and parking rapidly filled up early Monday morning.<\/p>\n

A lack of snow has plagued the resort<\/a> since December, delaying the start to ski season and limiting the available terrain since the resort opened. <\/p>\n

Staff had pivoted to hosting other events \u2014 like a mid-January slush cup, an event typically reserved for spring skiing \u2014 in order to keep spirits high at the resort while waiting for snow. <\/p>\n

It’s not just Mount Washington that’s had to limit operations \u2014 Mount Cain, further north on Vancouver Island, has also seen a lack of snowfall.<\/p>\n

A snowpack report<\/a> from last week revealed that Vancouver Island\u2019s snowpack levels are the lowest in the province, sitting at just 39 per cent of normal snowfall accumulation, meaning this past weekend’s storm was desperately needed. <\/p>\n

Matt Loney, an Environment Canada meteorologist, says that an extended period of ridging \u2014 an elongated area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere \u2014 kept weather systems away, causing a prolonged dry period on Vancouver Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says things are shifting back to normal, and to expect more snow later this week. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re getting back into the swing of things, where we’re seeing the storm track shift back to the West Coast,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ASnowy conditions were a welcome sight for the resort and for skiers and snowboarders across Vancouver Island. (Submitted by Nick Thornton)<\/p>\n

Mike Manara, the general manager of the resort, says this week’s snowfall brings some stability and hope for the rest of the season. <\/p>\n

He explains early season snow was not dense and didn\u2019t compact well \u2014 meaning when warm weather and rain hit, it disappeared easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this most recent storm brought wet and heavy snow that quickly compacted on itself, creating a more stable base to build on for the remaining two months of the season. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really big reset,\u201d said Manara.<\/p>\n

Manara says it\u2019s important to ski cautiously while the snow settles and be aware of hazards, like tree wells, so he advised skiers to try to ski with a friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-495734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}