Area’s first snowfall of the year brings delays
The Lower Mainland’s first snowfall of the year caused problems across the region Tuesday.
What began the day as rain quickly turned to snow during the morning commute and caused plenty of trouble as the day wore on.
Buses were delayed, trains were delayed — and so were flights at Vancouver International Airport.
“We are seeing delays and cancellations related to snowy weather in Vancouver and across Western Canada,” airport spokesperson Alana Lawrence said.
One aircraft, an Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767 bound for Mexico, had to abort a takeoff after a loud noise was heard. One witness tweeted they believed an engine had ingested snow or slush.
By mid-afternoon, seven centimetres of snow had fallen at YVR, according to Environment Canada. At higher elevations, the total was nearly double.
The heavy snow caused trouble for B.C. Hydro customers, with as many 75,000 homes in the Lower Mainland, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island — and Victoria International Airport — losing power at one point or another.
The system was centred for much of the day over coastal regions, leaving Abbotsford and other parts of the eastern Fraser Valley with just rain early in the day. As the system moved east in the afternoon, that switched to snow in Abbotsford, but the precipitation tapered off in Vancouver and other nearby suburbs.
TransLink’s buses struggled with snowy slopes, and delays were felt throughout the system. Many shared photos on social media of trolley buses stuck on the steep grade of 10th Ave. in Vancouver, west of Alma St. toward Trimble.
Service to SFU was difficult, although TransLink spokesperson Chris Bryan commended the “fantastic” work of the university’s snowplows. The transit authority is testing a new “tire sock” for the rear wheels of buses, and one bus serving Burnaby Mountain was fitted with one.
“The bus operator was quite thrilled with the traction,” Bryan reported. Further tests are still required — such determining durability and the best locations to actually put them on buses — before the socks can be fully deployed.
SFU closed for the day at 1 p.m., while UBC cancelled some exams scheduled for the afternoon.
Highways connecting the region with the Interior of the province saw heavy snowfall and the Coquihalla was closed to southbound traffic for much of Tuesday because of a series of truck crashes on the steep grades south of the Coquihalla Pass Recreation Area.
The Malahat Highway on southern Vancouver Island also saw heavy snowfall, making travel difficult.
With near-freezing temperatures expected overnight, Wednesday morning’s commute might be an ugly one. But a dose of sunshine expected later in the day will quickly help to clear whatever snow or ice that might still be covering roads.
A new system is expected to come through the region beginning Thursday, bringing more snow, although not in the same quantity as Tuesday.
That sets up an “increasing” chance of a white Christmas, Environment Canada’s Ross Macdonald said. “If you’ve got a significant amount on the ground (after Tuesday) ... it’s going to be hard to get rid of.”