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North Shore ski mountains get first dusting of snow

Mount Seymour’s Mystery Peak cam recorded the first dusting of snow this season in North Vancouver early Friday morning.
mystery-peak-snow-cam-mount-seymour
Mount Seymour’s Mystery Peak cam recorded fresh snow on the North Vancouver mountain Monday morning.

Well, that was quick!

It’s time to put away the shorts and sandals and dig out the snowboard and puffy jackets.

After record breaking high temperatures and drought during most of October, on Friday, the North Shore Mountains were greeted with their first dusting of … snow?!

Images captured by webcams on Mount Seymour early Friday showed a sprinkling of snow at the Mystery Peak cam. Later in the day, temperatures warmed up and the snow disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. By Monday morning, however another storm brought more snow to the North Shore mountains, which had measured 10 centimetres by Monday evening..

A mix of rain and snow is anticipated to continue on the North Shore mountains this week.

The sight of snow was enough to get some eager snowboarders and skiers excited, however, with some taking to social media to applaud the shift towards winter.

“It’s time to get this party started,” wrote one fan on Instagram.

North Shore mountains aren’t expected to really start accumulating snow until next month, however. Typically, local ski hills open anytime between mid-November and early December, depending on snow conditions.

(Grouse Mountain and its Skyride are currently closed for maintenance to Nov. 4).

Last year, Grouse and Cypress ski hills – which both have snow-making capacity to supplement Mother Nature – opened on the weekend of Nov. 19.

So far, early indications are pointing to a good year for skiers and riders.

Meteorologists have pointed to the presence of cooler than normal waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, signalling a third La Niña winter in a row.

In B.C., La Niña typically means a colder winter with above-average precipitation.

jseyd@nsnews.com
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