There are a total of six air mass types: continental tropical (cT), maritime tropical (mT), continental polar (cP), maritime polar (mP), continental arctic (cA), and maritime arctic (mA). Maritime arctic air masses affect BC’s coast when continental arctic air pushes through coastal fjords.
What factors affect climate in British Columbia?
The weather in British Columbia is influenced by latitude, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. Temperature, average precipitation, and hours of sunshine can vary over short distances, but in general temperatures are warmer in the south and milder on the coast, and rainfall is heaviest in coastal communities.
How is British Columbia affected by climate change?
How does climate change impact the province? In many parts of BC, snowpacks are projected to continue to decrease. Less snow means that there is less snowmelt in the spring and less runoff in summer. These declining amounts of water affect many industries, such as hydropower, agriculture and fisheries.
What type of air mass dominates the climate of Vancouver Canada?
Since the prevailing wind direction is from the west, the influence of the Pacific gives Vancouver a maritime climate, which moderates its temperatures and increases rainfall.
How does El Nino affect BC?
El Niño winters are generally warmer throughout most of British Columbia and Yukon, and less snowfall is recorded especially in southern British Columbia. La Niña winters show the opposite, with cooler conditions for most parts of the region and greater than normal snowfall in the southern half of British Columbia.
How do mountains affect climate in British Columbia?
Warm ocean air drops most of its moisture as rain and snow as it rises over mountain ranges. This makes BC home to Canada’s wettest climates and hence its most productive forests.
What climate type is British Columbia?
Areas along the south coast have a mild climate year-round. Summers on the coast are warm, with daytime temperatures around 20°C. B.C.’s coastal regions have the mildest winters in all of Canada, and temperatures rarely drop below freezing.
Why is British Columbia so polluted?
In B.C., the wood industry (e.g., forestry and sawmills) and pulp and paper mills release the most industrial emissions of particulate matter. They also emit sulphur oxides (SOx), along with the smog-forming chemicals: nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Why is British Columbia prone to natural disasters?
Furthermore, British Columbia’s mountainous terrain makes it prone to landslides, glacial outburst floods, snow avalanches, and seasonal floods, and its extensive coastlines are exposed to storm surges, tsunami that propagate across the Pacific Ocean from distant plate boundaries, and the effects of sea-level rise.
How does La Nina affect British Columbia?
In Canada, La Nina can create above average precipitation in British Columbia, colder-than-normal temperatures in the Prairies and above average precipitation in Ontario and Quebec.
What are the 3 major air masses?
There are four categories for air masses: arctic, tropical, polar and equatorial. Arctic air masses form in the Arctic region and are very cold. Tropical air masses form in low-latitude areas and are moderately warm. Polar air masses take shape in high-latitude regions and are cold.
Why does BC. have so many climate zones?
The proximity of the Pacific Ocean and presence of several major mountain chains significantly influence BC’s climate and ecosystems (Valentine et al., 1978).
What type of air mass is most likely to form over Canada?
Continental air masses form over land and are dry. Therefore, an air mass that develops over northern Canada is called a continental polar air mass and is cold and dry. One that forms over the Indian Ocean is called a maritime tropical air mass and is warm and humid.
Does La Niña mean more snow in BC?
This has different effects on the weather depending on where you are in the world, but for western Canada, La Niña means increased precipitation and colder temperatures, and up here in Whistler that means snow.
Is BC getting hotter?
Climate change connection
B.C. is experiencing higher annual summer temperatures and more extremely hot days due to climate change. Western Canada is already on average one to two degrees warmer than it was in the 1940s (source: Canada in a Changing Climate; Government of Canada).
Does El Nina mean more snow?
(FOX Weather)
A moderate La Niña tends to lead to warmer weather in the southern half of the country. During these events, freezes tend to be fewer and farther between in the South. Most of the country sees either normal or drier-than-average conditions, which leads to less rain and snowfall.
Why are mountains important to BC?
The mountain ranges are full of resources likes mines, forests, and lakes. These mountains can sustain these resources because of their location. Most of Canada’s mountains can be found along British Columbia’s Southeast corner over in Kootenay, in the Northeast, and Southwest Coast.
How do mountains affect climate in Vancouver?
The higher elevation mountainous regions are generally cooler with high amounts of precipitation. In winter this often results in extremely heavy snowpacks.
How does geography affect British Columbia?
The province has very diverse geography. B.C.’s landscapes include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. The Fraser Valley in the Mainland/Southwest region has rich agricultural land that produces fruit and vegetables.
How many climatic zones does British Columbia have?
There are fourteen different biogeoclimatic zones that support a variety of ecosystems. They support a wide variety of wildlife, vegetation and tree species. The different climatic regions in British Columbia can be extreme.
Why is British Columbia so Rainy?
The Pacific Ocean and The Cascade Range
As the moisture from the ocean moves over our mountains, namely The Cascades, it’s pushed upwards resulting in cooler air which does not support as much water vapour as warmer air. The water vapour that is lost as the air cools down, becomes rain.