Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the Greater Victoria area. A major change in the current weather pattern is in the works and residents should be prepared for what's ahead.

They are predicting this weekend's storm will merge two jet streams into a single river of sub-tropical moisture that will douse the South Coast with its first significant rainfall in months.

That translates into what is predicted to be 80 to 120mm of rain falling over the area between Friday night and Monday morning.

Environment Canada warns that due to prolonged drought conditions in the region, soil will have a reduced capacity to absorb water. These heavy rainfalls will increase the risk of flash flooding and will cause road surfaces to become slippery resulting in poor driving conditions.

However, local fire departments warn that this rainfall will not be enough to lift extreme fire hazard conditions and remind the public to still practice caution. See or on the front page of Friday's Gazette.

katie@goldstreamgazette.com