First major blast of winter hits Metro Vancouver region
Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2020 18:20:25 +0000
The first major blast of winter has hit the Metro Vancouver region on Sunday.
Residents throughout Vancouver woke up to several centimetres of snow and a snowfall warning of more powder on the way.
“The low pressure system continues its trek across the south coast this morning,” read the warning issued by Environment Canada on Sunday around 5 a.m.
“In the wake of the low this afternoon, northeast outflow winds will collide with northwest winds from the Strait of Georgia. Where they meet, a localised band of heavy snow will develop and push through Metro Vancouver this evening for further localised accumulations of 5 cm.”
West and North Vancouver and Coquitlam, which are located at higher elevations, will continue to see a further 5 to 10 centimetres possible, while Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster will see up to another 5 centimetres of wet snow mixed with rain. Inland areas of Metro Vancouver will see up to 4 centimeres of snowfall, while Richmond, Delta, Tsawwassen and Ladner will see rain.
Sunday morning also saw a number of power outages spread across the region due to snow conditions or trees fallen on wires. About 3,528 customers were affected in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast areas around 10 a.m. on Sunday
While most outages remained under investigation, at least several were confirmed as a result of snow conditions or fallen trees.
BC Ferries also cancelled the majority of its sailings on Sunday morning due to adverse weather conditions and high winds, including sailings between Vancouver’s Tsawwassen terminal and Victoria and Nanaimo, as well as from Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay terminal and Nanaimo and Sunshine Coast.
The following BC Ferries sailings have been cancelled on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020:
Tsawwassen (Vancouver) – Swartz Bay (Victoria)
• Departing Tsawwassen – 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm
• Departing Swartz Bay – 11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm
Tsawwassen (Vancouver) – Duke Point (Nanaimo)
• Departing Tsawwassen – 10:15 am, 12:45 pm, 3:15 pm, 5:45 pm
• Departing Duke Point – 10:15 am, 12:45 pm, 3:15 pm, 5:45 pm
Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) – Departure Bay (Nanaimo)
• Departing Departure Bay – 10:40 am, 1:00 pm, 3:20 pm, 5:55 pm
• Departing Horseshoe – 10:40 am, 1:00 pm, 3:45 pm, 6:35 pm
Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) – Langdale (Sunshine Coast)
• Departing Horseshoe Bay – 5:30 pm
• Departing Langdale – 6:40 pm
Meanwhile, some TransLink routes have been detoured due to road conditions on Sunday morning. Those included the R1 Newton Exchange and R1 Guildford Exchange, the 10 Downtown, and the R5 Burrard Station/SFU. Shuttles have been put in place for the R1 and R5, while the 10 is detouring.
“We continue to salt and sand bus loops and SkyTrain stations, but please use caution in these areas and remember to dress warmly in anticipation of potential delays,” read an alert posted to the TransLink website.
More to come.