Sudden snowfall, winter weather snarl traffic in B.C.'s Lower Mainland
Flurries followed by black ice prompt warnings to stay off the road if possible
Heavy snow hit Metro Vancouver on Thursday just before the afternoon commute, leading to delays, collisions, skidding and spin-outs on some major routes.
While the snow subsided later in the evening, icy conditions made for treacherous driving conditions. Police closed off a long stretch of Davie Street in Vancouver's West End, and in New Westminster, drivers were warned that multiple semi-trucks and buses were stuck on the Queensborough Bridge.
Vancouver police also asked drivers to avoid the McGill Street off-ramp on the westbound lanes of Highway 1 because of icy conditions.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services asked people not to drive unless absolutely necessary, especially on hills, writing on social media that firefighters were dealing with several vehicle incidents. As of about 4:45 p.m. PT, the fire rescue service said about 30 vehicles had crashed in the city.
In Richmond, RCMP reported a crash involving more than 25 vehicles on Highway 91 east of Nelson Road.
The Transportation Ministry said it was forced to close the southbound counterflow lane of the George Massey Tunnel in Richmond just before 5 p.m. because of "extremely slippery conditions" that had caused multiple vehicles to struggle with their traction. The lane reopened just before 6:30 p.m. after it was plowed and salted.
In North Vancouver, a transit bus lost traction in the snow on Highway 1 at Mountain Highway at about 3 p.m., blocking most westbound traffic, according to DriveBC.
Within about 30 minutes, the bus and other spun-out vehicles had been moved to the right lane to allow two lanes of traffic through.
Meanwhile, TransLink was reporting detours and delays on a number of bus routes, as well as SkyTrain's Millennium Line, because of the weather.
WATCH | Officials warn travellers to drive carefully on Lower Mainland roads:
Environment Canada said two centimetres of snow had been recorded at Vancouver International Airport as of 4 p.m., but the worst of the snowstorm was over.
The City of North Vancouver said it had four trucks out salting the roads, plus one focusing on cycling routes, and crews would be working through the night to clear the roads.
High winds also caused some trouble for ferry travellers in the region on Thursday night. B.C. Ferries said the predicted wave height was too high between Horseshoe Bay and Bowen Island, and cancelled all sailings beginning at 9:30 p.m.
The ferry corporation warned that if conditions did not improve, Friday morning sailings would have to be cancelled as well.
