Some Okanagan Schools remain closed for second day — some open

UPDATE TUESDAY A.M. 8 A.M.: OC campus and class updates. 

SALMON ARM – The Salmon Arm campus will be closed today.

REVELSTOKE CENTRE –  The Revelstoke Centre will be closed today.

VERNON CAMPUS AND VERNON TRADES FACILITIES – Will be open today.

KELOWNA CAMPUS, PENNO AND ACLAND ROAD FACILITIES – Will be closed until noon today to allow for snow removal. Watch for updates about afternoon and evening opening on the web beginning at 10 a.m. Staff and students are asked to avoid campus until determination is made to open.

PENTICTON CAMPUS – Open today.

UPDATE TUESDAY A.M. 7:00: Okanagan College’s Kelowna Campus and trades training facilities at PEnno and Acland Road will be closed until noon today. Further updates will be available beginning at 10 a.m.  The Salmon Arm Campus and Revelstoke Centre will be closed today. Vernon and Penticton campuses will be open today.

UPDATE TUESDAY A.M. 6:47: Vernon School District Calls its 2nd Snow Day. Due to road conditions all classes are cancelled today. Teachers are to report to work when safe to travel. Parents please arrange for alternate care for your children.​

UPDATE TUESDAY A.M. 6:45: All School District busses will be running and all Schools are open today in SD67 (Okanagan Skaha).

UPDATE TUESDAY A.M. 6:30:  Schools in the Central Okanagan (SD23) will remain closed today, Tuesday, January 06, 2015.  Here is the official news release: While weather conditions did improve somewhat overnight, reports from throughout the Central Okanagan School District indicate that it is still unsafe to open our schools today. Maintenance crews and contractors providing snow removal services have informed us that most side streets and sidewalks have not been plowed and many remain unsafe for either vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Our hope is that with more
favorable weather forecasted for today, crews will be able to catch up with the large amount of snow removal that has to happen so that students can walk safely to school and most buses will be able to operate. Once again, we thank our parent community for their understanding in making alternate arrangements for their children for today, and we look forward to hopefully being able to reopen our schools on Wednesday, January 7th. Updates will continue to be provided on the School District website – www.sd23.bc.ca.

UPDATE TUESDAY A.M.: School District 23 (Central Okanagan) says it will issue a statement in 30 minutes on whether schools will be open today.  School District 67 (Okanagan Skaha) indicated that it would be posting an update by 6 a.m. but has yet to post anything. More details to come.

UPDATE FROM NORTH OKANAGAN-SHUSWAP SCHOOL DISTRICT: Due to further snowfall accumulations, the continued Winter Storm warning from Environment Canada including a forecast of freezing rain in the morning hours we are announcing that district schools will be closed again on Tuesday.  Our transportation department is further being advised of the potential for difficult road conditions for road maintenance staff.

UPDATE FROM CENTRAL OKANAGAN SCHOOL DISTRICT:  We are continuing to monitor both the Environment Canada weather forecast as well as feedback regarding the success

of snow clearing efforts in order to make a decision regarding school opening tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6th. (Even if our schools are in a position to open tomorrow, we have been advised that many of our bus routes will not be cleared in time to enable buses to perform their normal runs.) We will endeavor to send out a News Release to all our media contacts, and post to our website and the individual school websites by no later than 7:00 am tomorrow morning as to the status of school operations in the Central Okanagan School District. The current forecast is for snow to continue tonight and this may be followed by freezing rain. If it snows heavily throughout the evening, we may make a decision about the status of our schools tonight.
Parents are encouraged to check the School District’s website – www.sd23.bc.ca – for updates.

UPDATE HIGHWAYS COQUIHALLA: Highway 5 closed northbound at Exit 177, Junction with Highway 3 near Hope because of multiple Trees on the Road at various locations. Estimated time of opening is between 8AM and Noon, Tuesday.

UPDATE FROM SD67 (South Okanagan):  Given the heavy snowfall received overnight and today, and the current forecast calling for possibility of more snow and/or freezing rain tonight, district staff will continue to monitor road conditions and will make a decision by 6:00 am on Tuesday, January 6^th as to whether or not buses will be running.  At this time, information regarding busses and school operations will be posted on the district website (www.sd67.bc.ca) and local media outlets will be contacted.

Original information posted Monday

KELOWNA — Superintendent Hugh Gloster of School District 23 has announced that all public schools are closed.

He says buses are unable to run.  Some administrators will be attempting to get to school.

He says it’s the first time in 35 years that SD 23 has been forced to close schools because of snow. 

Most private schools are also closed. (Call school for confirmation).

Kelowna Christian School is also closed.

North Okanagan-Shuswap School District is joining Vernon and Kamloops school districts and closing schools. Check School District 22 for more info. 

Vernon Christian School has  declared a Snow Day for Monday. There will be no bus transportation to the school.

The opening of Bastion Elementary School is being delayed by two hours (until 10 a.m.) as the parking lot has not been plowed.

Schools in the south Okanagan remain open. School District 67 says all schools are open, however but buses in Summerland are not running.

 Okanagan College is closing its Vernon campus and trades training facilities today (Jan. 5, 2015) due to winter weather conditions. All classes and on-campus services will be cancelled for the duration of the day.

The UBC Okanagan campus is open today, but weather and travel conditions continue to worsen.  All classes starting at 12 noon or later have been cancelled.

Due to the significant snowfall that continues through Monday, January 5, 2015 Municipal Hall in Lake Country will be CLOSED.

With the heavy snow over the last 24 hours and more in the forecast, the City of Kelowna’s snow removal trucks are working non-stop to clear streets.

 “This has been an extreme snow event and all City crews are out working on the high-traffic roads. These Priority 1 streets will be the focus until the storm blows over,” said Stephen Bryans, Roadways Operations Supervisor. “We’ll also have additional contractors tackling the residential areas later today.”

Due to heavy snow, garbage and recycling collection trucks may not be able to access some rural areas of the RDOS. Where garbage trucks cannot access your street, residents are asked to bring in their waste and contact BFI Canada for when the next collection will occur.
Residents can call BFI Canada at 250-490-3888 or toll free at 1-866-998-4888 for more information on the areas affected.

Environment Canada is calling anywhere between 10-15 centimetres of more snow Monday followed by an additional 5 centimetres in ice pellets Tuesday.

The weather is having an impact on flights in and out of the Kelowna airport.  Click here for latest.

Big White is reporting 36 centimetres in the past 24 hours.  Silver Star near Vernon is reporting 25 new centimetres.

DriveBC is reporting limited visibility on the Connector with heavy snowfall between Merritt and West Kelowna.  Travel Advisory in effect.

HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE TWEETING: