Winter’s worst has likely passed
Warm weather on the way as most of Metro avoids the freezing rain that iced over Abbotsford
The Lower Mainland is starting to look like its old self again after a bout of wild winter weather saw big dumps of snow followed by hours of freezing rain in some parts of B.C.’s South Coast.
Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald said beginning Friday, the Lower Mainland’s weather will become more typical with expected highs of up to 7 C and rain tapering off around midday.
“The worst of it is definitely done. That was the last of the winter weather for quite some time now,” he said, adding it could get up to 15 C in Vancouver next week.
People in Vancouver have had a comparatively easy time over the last day or so with freezing rain lasting for three hours late Wednesday night — compared to freezing rain for 131/2 hours in Abbotsford Wednesday and Thursday.
“It’s the worst type of precipitation,” MacDonald said. “It just creates an instantaneous sheet of ice. Most of Metro Vancouver dodged a bullet in that regard.”
Highways 3, 5, and 1 were closed in both directions at various points Thursday following the latest dump of snow with Highway 5 reopening in mid-afternoon after an earlier crash was cleared.
In Vancouver, 13 people were sent to hospital Thursday morning after two cars and a bus from a local seniors home collided at the intersection of Oak Street and 56th Avenue.
There have been numerous interruptions of SkyTrain, Canada Line and bus service because of this winter’s unusual weather, but a spokesperson for the transit authority was unable to estimate the total number of snow-related service delays.
Ministry of Transportation staff has been working to keep the Alex Fraser and the Port Mann bridges safe for travel throughout the winter.
“Crews have been working around the clock to closely monitor both bridges and perform safety measures as necessary, such as spraying de-icing agent on the cross-beams of the Alex Fraser and snow-clearing cable drops on the Port Mann,” a statement from the Ministry of Transportation read.
So far this winter, the Alex Fraser has been temporarily closed three times. The Port Mann has been relying on a snow-clearing cable collar drop system to clear snow off its 288 cables before it has a chance to build up, but did require a temporary closure Thursday morning to drop the cables safely following a round of freezing rain.
B.C. Hydro crews were also hard at work Thursday restoring power across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley due to storm damage. Meanwhile, Whistler recorded about 35 centimetres of snow during the storm. Vancouver-area ski hills were less lucky and had nothing but rain.