Lower Mainland Weather Central

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Cloudy, rainy Vancouver weather to usher in start of a cold, wet, snowy fall

VANCOUVER - Sunny skies over the Lower Mainland will fittingly mark the waning hours of summer today as the season officially draws to a close tonight - just in time for clouds and cool air to roll in from the Pacific.

Following the official start to fall at 8:09 p.m. showers will begin overnight as rain develops Thursday in Vancouver as the region creeps toward a record-setting month for rain.

Vancouver has already seen several downpours that have contributed to 119 millimetres of rain at the Vancouver International Airport weather station. The September record stands at 153.1, set in 2004.

Abbotsford has already doubled its average rain total (76 mm) for the month with 153 mm.

Residents should see a brief respite Friday afternoon and Saturday with dry, cloudy skies but rain will return on Sunday as a powerful Pacific storm from the north hits the coast, according to meteorologist Mark Madryga.

The rain is expected to last several days, according to the extended forecast from Environment Canada.

The shift in weather is also a fitting mark to the fall season, which at first is expected to be mild and wet.

However, according to the 2011 long-range seasonal forecast from the Old Farmer's Almanac the latter half of fall and winter is expected to be cold and snowy for southern B.C. — a far cry from the snowless season brought by El Nino last year.

The change, explained Madryga, is due to La Nina.

"La Nina is with us. That is opposite to the El Nino we had last winter with essentially no snow for the Olympics, or all season in the city. The consensus is that it will be a bit colder than average this fall and winter," he said.

La Nina, which often follows a strong El Nino such as the one British Columbians just experienced, is a large climate pattern that brings cool ocean temperatures to the Pacific Northwest, thus cooling the surrounding air.

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Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/C...wy+fall/3563755/story.html#ixzz10ICZksRy