Metro Vancouverites should enjoy a streak of colder but predominantly dry weather for about the next 10 days.
Environment Canada Meteorologist Derek Lee told V.I.A. that a "strong and persistent" ridge of high-pressure will move into the region over the weekend starting on Saturday, Jan. 11 and keep conditions dry heading into next week.
Temperatures are expected to dip below freezing overnight Sunday as the ridge continues building, but no snow is expected since it will keep conditions dry, Lee adds.
"We'll likely get into a stretch of dry weather with no precipitation," he says.
But locals may see more fog in the coming days, despite a lack of wet weather.
Metro Vancouver 7-day weather forecast
Radiation fog forms when the surface continues cooling - and there is a deep enough layer of moist air near the ground - and the humidity reaches 100 per cent and fog will form, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Lee notes that there is no "significant strong flow from the Pacific" to clear residual moisture in the atmosphere. The ridge of high pressure traps moisture close to the surface and cooling overnight temperatures transform it into fog.
"It is a lot of condensed water vapour," he explains. "The ridge of high pressure acts as a lid over the atmosphere because there's no movement of the moist air and it gets trapped.
"We are not in an active pattern. It is stagnant with no storms or wind to clear it out."
While colder overnight temperatures allow fog to form, temperatures dipping below freezing may instead freeze moisture.
"The chance of getting fog on nights below zero is harder but you can still get fog under freezing. It depends on the amount of moisture in the air," he explains.
When asked when the region will experience a shift to wet weather, Lee said it is too early to forecast when that will happen. Conditions should stay relatively dry with temperatures close to seasonal for at least the next week.
Stay up-to-date with hyperlocal forecasts across 50 neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland with V.I.A.'s Weatherhood.
