Snowfall warning issued for Victoria, more on the way for South Coast

It might be late February, but B.C.’s South Coast is facing an unseasonably late blast of winter weather.

A snowfall warning has been issued for the Greater Victoria area, with total amounts of five to 10 centimetres forecast by late Wednesday evening.

The unexpected precipitation even prompted the City of Victoria to cancel an emergency preparedness workshop, prompting a light-hearted ribbing from social media followers.

In Metro Vancouver, a special weather statement is in effect with between two and four centimetres of snow possible by Wednesday evening.

Environment Canada is warning drivers of icy road conditions, particularly south of the Fraser where the greatest snowfall is expected.

Wednesday’s dusting of snow likely isn’t the last of the winter weather the region will see, either.

Global News meteorologist Mark Madryga says a second system is expected to arrive by the weekend.

“It’s Friday’s system that looks like it’ll have more of a punch, with five or more centimetres of snow likely during the day,” he said.

“And now the long-range charts are bringing in another system with more snow likely on Sunday.”

The snow comes after a blast of cold weather last week, and with sub-zero overnight temperatures forecast through to the weekend.

In Vancouver, where temperatures are expected to drop to -6 overnight, the city has opened warming centres at Britannia, Carnegie and the West End community centres.

TransLink also says it is gearing up for the snow, with heat tracing and cover boards and de icing systems in place for SkyTrain and Canada Line. It says it is also prepared to roll out its pilot-program tire socks for buses, and has implemented proactive measures to help HandyDART reach customers.

-With files from Ria Renouf and Jon Hall