Snowy morning commute in Metro Vancouver and South Coast
Mike Laanela | CBC News | Posted: December 9, 2016 2:00 PM | Last Updated: December 9, 2016
Snow is expected to turn to rain at lower elevations as the day progresses
Metro Vancouver and the rest of B.C.'s South Coast got a few centimetres of snow, but no major transit problems were reported during the morning commute.
Forecasters are now predicting it will turn to rain at lower elevations as the day progresses, before snowing again overnight and into Saturday morning.
The heaviest snow appeared to have fallen in Victoria and Vancouver Island where up to five centimetres had accumulated, prompting some school districts to announce closures. Rain has already started to move in to some parts of the island.
Heavy snow also fell in the Fraser Valley where strong wind reduced visibility for drivers and cause at least one bad accident.
It is also snowed heavily across parts of the southern Interior, including on the Coquihalla Highway.
Expect more by Saturday
The snowstorm was originally forecast to hit the region late Thursday night, but was held up by a dry Arctic air mass, according to Environment Canada metrologist Matt MacDonald.
"We were staring at our radar all night long, and we could see snow in the atmosphere, and it took until about 4 a.m. for that snow to finally hit the ground here," he said Friday morning.
Environment Canada has revised its earlier warnings to say 10 to 15 centimetres will fall on the region by Saturday morning.
Then on Saturday morning it could switch back to rain again, but not enough to wash away most of the snow, MacDonald forecasts.
Metro Vancouver transit updates
The latest snow comes after a surprise storm crippled transit and jammed roads across the region Monday. Transit and highway crews have prepped for this storm.
- Helijet says flights are on hold until 11 a.m.
- Harbour Air has cancelled many flights until 11 a.m.
- The SkyTrain and Canada Line are operating normally so far.
- Some Metro Vancouver buses are detouring or delayed.
- HandyDART will operate essential services only in all areas today.
- No problems on the Alex Fraser and Port Mann bridges have been reported.
- Full list of school and other closures