Update: Traffic is slower than usual due to the accumulation of white stuff overnight, particularly in the Fraser Valley, where students get a snow day.
Mission, Abbotsford and Chilliwack have announced all public-school closures. Check your local school district for closures in your area.
For the morning commute, Transit operators are reporting slippery conditions, which is causing delays. SFU’s Burnaby campus is closed.
TransLink’s information officer Drew Snider reports that bus service south of the Fraser and in the Tri-Cities/Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows area is considerably behind schedule, so customers need to plan additional time into their morning commutes if possible.
All trains are being attended by SkyTrain attendants, which means they’re running fewer trains with longer gaps between the trains. The trains have more cars, however, so we’re still running about the same capacity as usual.
The Canada Line is running normally.
Bus service is affected by the road and traffic conditions in localized areas. There are reported delays for bus service.
A reported crash on Nordel Way will affect any bus service using the Alex Fraser Bridge. Other services in Surrey are running behind schedule due to the conditions.
HandyDART — is running essential services only, such as dialysis and cancer treatments only, for the time-being.
The snow has turned to rain in some areas. Check back for updates.
Tuesday: A heavy snowfall warning was in effect for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Tuesday night.
Environment Canada meteorologists were predicting 10 to 15 centimetres of snow for Greater Vancouver Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with the Fraser Valley expecting 15 to 20 cm. of the white stuff.
“We’re also looking at some stronger south-easterly winds along this front system of 40 to 60 kilometres per hour in Metro Vancouver,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Dave Wray.
The winds were expected to ease off to about 20 to 30 km/h about noon Wednesday.
Downtown Vancouver was expected to receive about 10 cm of snow and eastern suburbs such as Coquitlam and Surrey receiving about 15 cm.
“The heavy snowfall warning is in effect essentially for all south coast regions,” said Wray.
TransLink said it is preparing for the snow under its “snow/adverse weather” plans and that it may run longer trains on SkyTrain “if conditions warrant” but warned that “customers can expect longer than usual waits between the trains.” The snow is expected to turn to mixed snow and rain in Vancouver about 7 or 9 a.m. and then to rain about 10 or 11 a.m.
“We are looking at the snow continuing a little bit longer through the morning hours Wednesday for the Fraser Valley,” said Wray. “Whereas in Vancouver we’re looking at the snow to change over to rain say mid to late morning.”
Temperatures are expected to warm up to six or seven degrees this afternoon.
“Once the snow switches over to rain, it will be raining through the rest of the day,” said Wray. “So it will get quite mild and wash away most if not all of the snow that we had received overnight.”
Snow is expected to turn to rain in the Fraser Valley in the early afternoon Wednesday.
Rain is also forecast for Thursday and Friday morning.
– With files from Jack Keating
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