A snowfall warning remains in effect Friday for Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Greater Victoria, the Sunshine Coast and east and west Vancouver Island.
Significant accumulation is expected after the snow arrived early Friday morning.
The snow has resulted in some problems on the roads. Highway 1 in North Vancouver is very slow and heavy in both directions due to the falling and sticking snow.
There are also some transit delays, including HandyDart, which is running essential service only in Vancouver, Richmond, North and West Vancouver.
Snow will fall for the majority of the day in the Lower Mainland. Five to 10 cm is likely by the end of the day as temperatures hover near the freezing point.
The next band of precipitation coming in tonight may be mixed with rain, but local additional snowfall amounts of 5 to 15 cm are possible especially at higher levels of Metro Vancouver, including the Fraser Valley and over other South Coastal sections.
Although rain will be more dominant on Saturday and Sunday in Metro Vancouver, colder air coming in again Sunday night and on Monday will likely result in more snow.
Rare snowfall
Metro Vancouver hasn’t seen this much snowfall in the winter since 2008-2009. Global BC meteorologist Mark Madryga says a snowfall event like this occurs every 10 years or so. Last time it snowed in February was on Feb. 24, 2014 14.4 cm falling at the Vancouver Airport.
Metro Vancouver has not seen snow on Valentine’s Day since 1990 and 1995.
Preparing the bridges
Crews with the Ministry of Transportation have already been preparing the Alex Fraser Bridge and the Port Mann Bridge ahead of today’s anticipated snowfall.
Bridge crews will be on site Friday, working to clear and closely monitor both bridges to keep the two bridges safe for travel during winter conditions.
Crew members will perform precautionary 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. There may be single-lane closures on the Port Mann for crew safety while they work.
A helicopter is also on stand-by if it is needed to clear snow from the cables of the Alex Fraser Bridge.
If snow and ice accumulates on the Alex Fraser, crews will temporarily close the bridge for two to three hours.
Snow on Friday
The snow is falling and accumulating on southern Vancouver Island, in areas such as Lantzville, Port Alberni, Qualicum Beach, Nanaimo and Victoria.
The snow is also falling on Metro Vancouver.
Not everyone is happy however.
Stay tuned, more to come.
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