Snow falls across B.C.'s South Coast Saturday
5 cm of snow expected on Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast, with up to 20 cm on Vancouver Island
Tweet your South Coast snow day photos to @cbcnewsbc so we can add them to this gallery!
Cold winds from the east, along with a storm system that slid over Haida Gwaii yesterday, is expected to bring snow to B.C.'s South Coast today.
Environment Canada issued special weather statements Saturday morning, predicting that around five centimetres of snow would fall across Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Sunshine Coast.
A snowfall warning is in effect for Greater Victoria, the east side of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, where between 10 centimetres and up to 20 centimetres of snow could fall.
"The air mass is cold enough for a mixture of snow and rain at sea level and for significant accumulations over higher terrain," Environment Canada said in a warning issued just before 11 a.m. PT.
It also said the highest amounts of snow were expected over southern sections of Vancouver Island, and that the snow would ease overnight and then start again Sunday afternoon.
As of 5:38 p.m. PT, Environment Canada issued unofficial snowfall totals for select areas on the South Coast, and said the snow is expected to continue overnight, and will begin accumulating closer to sea level as temperatures drop a few degrees.
Unofficial snowfall totals, in centimetres, Saturday, February 22 5:38 p.m. PT
- Malahat Highway 8
- Campbell River 7
- Whistler village 6
- North Vancouver (at 130m) 5
- Whistler village 5
- Squamish 5
- West Vancouver 4
- Duncan 4
- Hope 3
- Abbotsford 3
- Pemberton 2
- Port Alberni 2
- Parksville 2
- Saturna Island 1
Source: Environment Canada weather summaries
