Snowfall catches Vancouverites off guard

The skies dumped up to 20 centimetres on parts of the Lower Mainland Friday, causing mayhem for a city that rarely sees more than a few flakes.

Driving in Vancouver Friday afternoon, Tyler Smith said slippery conditions forced him to stop and get out the tire chains he'd brought with him. 

"I'm glad I slid into a semi parking spot to install them. I'm not in the middle of the road doing it," joked Smith, who's never had to use the chains before.

"They said we were going to have a snow-pocalypse earlier this morning and I didn't believe it. Now I definitely do."

Other drivers, perhaps caught more off guard than Smith, ended up stalled for hours as the Sea to Sky Highway shut down between Squamish and Whistler during rush hour.

Some worried residents even called 911 because of the snow, prompting B.C. officials to plead with the public not to call the emergency line for relatively harmless weather situations.

The snow is slated to fall throughout the night, with Environment Canada predicting another 10 to 15 centimetres by morning and up to 20 in some parts of Metro Vancouver.

But not everybody's upset.

Vancouver Aquarium's resident otters — Mak, Kunik and Hardy — seemed to enjoy their "snowball enrichment session" Friday afternoon.

Smith, meanwhile, was able to get his van roadworthy. But he noticed others weren't. "I think I got it," he said, before bending down to fasten the last of his chains.

Higher temperatures and showers in the coming days could melt the blanket covering the city by Saturday evening — good news for Smith, who chuckled at the plight of the city's snow plows. 

"Vancouverites are very underprepared," he said.