The good news is the snow will stop falling, the bad news is, the rain will replace it.
With the snow just sitting on roofs, once it mixes with rain it’s going to become very heavy and Environment Canada Meteorologist Armel Castellan says shoveling off your roof is a good idea.
“The more shallow roof and older structures could do with some shoveling, especially in those locations in around Lake Cowichan, North Cowichan, Duncan, and Ladysmith,” said Castellan. “These have been some of the hardest hit (communities), with total snow quantities. Some buildings would do well to have that cleared.”
Homeowners with the flatter roofs are advised to shovel the snow off to ease some of the pressure the weight of the wet snow causes.
Castellan said there is nowhere for the moisture to go, and this makes shoveling difficult.
“You’ve got a large amount of snow, so that’s already heavy in and of itself, but after you add rain to it, it’s not like it’s draining with that rain,” said Castellan. “It’s essentially adding more weight on top of the snow and the snow is also quite a bit heavier and more dense because it’s warming up. It’s a hard one to deal with because it feels like concrete and it will be heavier.”
Earlier this month, temperatures were seven to eight degrees below seasonal averages and Castellan said the warming trend will be a slow one.
