Many schools closed, commute slow as snow blankets southwest ...
British Columbia
Overnight snow has blanketed southwest British Columbia, including Metro Vancouver, resuting in numerous school closures and setting up a difficult morning commute.
CBC News
· Posted: Jan 17, 2024 9:33 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
Overnight snow has blanketed southwest British Columbia, resulting in school closures across the region and a difficult morning commute.
Up to 20 centimetres of snow is expected to accumulate in some places by Wednesday evening, thanks to a low-pressure system moving in from the Pacific Ocean, according to Environment Canada.
A snowfall warning is in place for all of Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, the Sunshine Coast and most of southern B.C.
All school districts in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley announced early Wednesday that schools would not open.
WATCH | Metro Vancouver's struggles with snow:
The Greater Victoria and Sooke school districts, however, said all its schools would open on Wednesday.
Classes were cancelled across the rest of southern Vancouver Island, and across the Sunshine Coast. Parents in other areas of the province are encouraged to check the website of their school or district for closures.
Most post-secondary institutions — including the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, BCIT, Capilano University, Douglas College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Vancouver Community College — also cancelled on-campus classes as snowfall accumulates in the second winter storm of 2024.
Environment Canada warned that visibility could be limited because of the heavy snow, making it difficult to navigate roads or even sidewalks.
The weather agency has issued snowfall warnings in 40 different regions across the province.
In Vancouver, an extreme weather alert issued by the city will remain in effect until Thursday, and additional shelter spaces and warming centres have been opened.
Road conditionsThe City of Vancouver has encouraged only essential travel only on city roads, and advised drivers to use city traffic cameras to check road conditions.
Uber driver Inderraj Gill began work at 5 a.m. PT and had been from White Rock to the Vancouver International Airport. He said the roads were snowy, but other drivers were being cautious.
"People are driving slow, they're at crawling speeds and in comparison to last year — I remember being stuck in traffic for seven hours in New Westminster," he said.
Gill said he observed some vehicles driving too close to others.
"That's one advice that I'd like to put out there: We should keep a lot of gap between the front and back of the other cars," he said.
Kanelle Staite with the province's Ministry of Transportation says tow trucks and salting and brining equipment are in place on highways to deal with the conditions, and the ministry is asking drivers to make sure they are equipped for emergencies in case there are road closures or delays.
"So you do want to make sure that you have sufficient fuel if you do have to be waiting in an area, as well as a blanket and some food to keep you warm," she said.
WATCH | Instructor offers some tips on driving in the snow:
Maintenance crews responsible for highways in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island made similar recommendations, and suggested anyone who has to hit the roads should be equipped with warm clothes, food, water and fully charged phones.
For up-to-date road conditions around the province, visit DriveBC.ca.
Metro Vancouver transitTransLink said bus routes were being affected by the snow and several detours were in effect. On the SkyTrain network, Expo Line trains are only running from Waterfront Station to Lougheed Town Centre Station and back, meaning commuters who need to continue to Production-Way Station must transfer at Lougheed.
"It's really all hands on deck today," said TransLink spokesperson Tina Lovgreen about efforts being made to get people to their destinations on Wednesday.
Another shot of our Rope Access Technicians (also known as RATs in the industry) at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AlexFraser?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AlexFraser</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCHwy91?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BCHwy91</a>.<br><br>Crews are monitoring cables and releasing collars periodically to remove accumulations on cables. Rolling right lane closures all day. <br><br>Traffic is slow moving NB. <a href="https://t.co/ic3x7gw4Om">pic.twitter.com/ic3x7gw4Om</a>
—@TranBC_LMDSkyTrain ran through the night outside of operating hours in an effort to prevent snow from building up on the tracks.
Lovgreen said the Metro Vancouver's transit network was in full operation Wednesday morning. But she said there would be delays due to weather and some changes, such as using 40-foot buses, which are "more agile in snow" than 60-foot articulated buses.
"That does mean customers should expect some delays as they are smaller buses," she said.
All alerts from TransLink are here.
Vancouver International Airport said the weather was also affecting flight schedules. It is asking travellers to check with airlines over the status of their flights.
B.C. Ferries said some sailings were delayed Wednesday morning due to crews having trouble getting to terminals because of unsafe road conditions.
Rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week, with highs to 8 C by Saturday.
