the weather, vancouver and me

When people told me that BC weather is great I never doubted it. And I guess part of the reason why we chose the West Coast to settle in was in fact the beautiful summers and mild (er) winters, among many other wonderful things. I've not been disappointed so far but I do have a couple of observations about the weather, the forecasts and how it manages to interestingly shape moods, fashion and people's sense of humour in the city.


Where I come from we also have four seasons, wet, very wet, hot and very hot. In addition to that, we are used to encountering serious weather systems - including 20 typhoons a year. So while people do listen to weather forecasts, it doesn't have the same level of airtime, talktime and impact on people's daily lives as it does here. I remember the movie "Weatherman" that starred Nicholas Cage and somehow I related to his situation especially given the unusually finicky weather we've been having recently.

Vancouver's weather forecasters, who all have a good following though not necessarily like Justin Bieber, receive kudos for forecasting great weather but feel the heat when the weather turns sour as it has in the past week and in recent days. My guess is that if the weather forecast is wrong and the sun comes out, people celebrate and forecasters get a pat in back nonetheless. But beware when the opposite happens.


Today, the 24th of October was a particularly good example of the fickle weather: it went from overcast, heavy rain, drizzle, sun, then pouring rain. Three interesting things happened on our way to Church. When we stepped onto a Skytrain car, we saw one guy, fully drenched and just wearing a polo shirt - he may have missed the weather forecast. Most of the other commuters were in autumn wear, some with umbrellas. By the time we were midway to our destination, the sun was shining. We went out for mass this morning and the light drizzle has stopped but by the time mass was over it was pouring; then the wind came.


I guess one really just has to be prepared for the worst when it comes to Vancouver weather. And with my five months worth of experience with West Coast weather, I've learned that to err on the side of caution and be prepared for anything usually works. So with rains forecast all day tomorrow; you can be sure that I'm fully geared up whether it rains or shines.