Major snowfall brings transit delays, power outages to Metro Vancouver

A snowfall warning has been lifted for Metro Vancouver, but there are still transit delays after a wintry day across the region on Tuesday.

According to TransLink, the hardest-hit areas for bus service include:

• University of British Columbia.
• Southern parts of Vancouver and Burnaby.
• Burnaby Mountain.
• North-south routes on Lonsdale Road in North Vancouver.

TransLink said SkyTrain is running normally. Passengers using HandyDART should expect some delays and are encouraged to consult TransLink's trip planner.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver on Tuesday morning, but it was lifted by 4 p.m. Forecasters are cautioning people in the region that a mix of rain and snow will continue into the early evening, with two to four centimetres expected in the eastern part of the Lower Mainland.

Hydro busy with power outages

At the peak of Tuesday's storm, there were 10,000 outages in the Lower Mainland — the hardest hit areas were Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

The storms have affected close to 60,000 BC Hydro customers across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and parts of the Lower Mainland.

Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus tweeted Tuesday afternoon that it had moved to limited operations, and asked students and faculty to leave the campus. UBC cancelled afternoon exams at its Point Grey campus but said the evening exams will go ahead as planned.

Snowy conditions forced the closure of the Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver. The park tweeted that it would be closed until pathways could be safely cleared.

Environment Canada said the snow will ease overnight and we'll see a break in the white stuff Wednesday — but by Thursday an arctic front will descend from the interior bringing sunshine and colder air.

Vancouver snow plan in effect

The City of Vancouver initiated its snow plans Monday following last year's disastrous response that left streets and sidewalks uncleared for days, creating hazardous, icy conditions and frustrating residents.

"This year, we have added new areas for snow and ice removal, including pedestrian pathways, arterial corner ramps, bus stops and some steep laneways, that will help us in collecting garbage and recycling," said Jerry Dobrovolny the general manager of engineering services.

In a move likely to frustrate many residents, the city said it still has no plans to remove snow from residential streets.

"It is important for residents to remember that it is not in our plan to plow local streets, as is typical of primarily rainy-climate cities such as ours," Dobrovolny said.

The new strategy includes expanding the city's snow removal fleet, clearing major routes and increasing the inventory of salt.

YVR gets out snow equipment

Seven centimetres of snow had fallen at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) by mid-afternoon, something that was not in the forecast for the low-elevation area, according to Steve Hankinson, vice president of operations for the airport.

"Our snow team stepped up and made sure runways and taxiways were clear," Hankinson told CBC News.

About 80 pieces of equipment were out clearing the runways and taxiways at YVR, he added.

But the planes on the runway also required de-icing and that caused numerous delays throughout the day. The company that provides de-icing services to the airport can handle six aircraft at once, but with the wet snow that fell during the day, the process was taking longer than usual.

"It takes typically somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, but today because of the wet, heavy snow, it's upwards of 20 minutes to de-ice a plane," Hankinson said.

Passengers are being reminded to allow extra time to get to the airport because of weather conditions and the busy holiday travel season.

Meanwhile, travellers on an Air Canada flight bound for Ixtapa, Mexico, told CBC News they sat on the tarmac for about five hours after their plane apparently blew a tire shortly before takeoff at 9 a.m.

"It was pretty frustrating," passenger Joel Brown said. "Oh man, I had a couple beers, just to get over it."

Environment Canada cautions that highways, roads, sidewalks and parking lots could become difficult to navigate because of the snow accumulation — and advises people to adjust to the changing conditions.

Snowfall warnings were also issued for the Fraser and Okanagan Valleys, and parts of Vancouver Island.