It’s been a few months since we’ve seen this kind of snowfall on the south coast, so residents should expect further travel disruptions Sunday morning and prepare accordingly for the post-storm cleanup.
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A moisture-laden low-pressure system sliding down the coast met arctic air pouring from the interior to cover much of the south coast with a blanket of snow.
Snow will ease early Sunday morning but travel and power disruptions are likely to continue throughout the day, particularly over the mountain passes and on untreated back roads.
Some heavy snowfall totals were already reported as early as 5am PST Sunday. Squamish, BC is the clear winner so far, reporting a whopping 49cm. However, Port Mellon is not far behind at 41cm.
Ucluelet, located west of Vancouver Island, saw 32 cm. Surrey and Whistler documented 27 cm, Abbotsford recorded 22 cm and 11 cm fell at Vancouver International Airport.
Adding to the travel woes are the power outages, with BC Hydro so far reporting more than 20,000 customers in the dark, and that number could continue to rise as the day progresses.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued snowfall warnings for the entire Lower Mainland, including Metro Vancouver, through Sunday morning.
“Prepare for rapidly changing and deteriorating travel conditions,” ECCC said in its warning. “Rapidly falling snow will make travel difficult.
At the end of the storm we could see 15-25 cm of snow over Metro Vancouver, with totals of over 25 cm at higher ground.
Totals vary in Greater Victoria with locally over 15 cm towards the west coast communities and across Malahat.
Snow will taper to wet flurries and local showers for the south coast and Vancouver Island by Sunday. Some of these heavier showers may contain small hail as they are convective in nature.
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Behind the storm, temperatures on the south coast will begin to warm up this week, although near-low-season temperatures are likely to persist through at least the first few days of March.
Another round of unsettled weather is set to arrive earlier this week, bringing the potential for rain and snow to the region. We’re waiting for another swath of wet snow Monday night, crossing parts of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, as a low approaches from the south.
WATCH: Snow is causing problems on BC’s south coast
Click here to watch the video
*Thumbnail image courtesy of Norman Dick, taken in Sicamous, BC
Be sure to check the latest forecast for BC
