B.C.’s Lower Mainland expected to see more snow during Friday's rush hour
More snow is in the forecast Friday for British Columbia’s south coast, days after a significant storm that brought rush hour traffic in the Lower Mainland to a standstill.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound and the Southern Gulf Islands.
A low pressure system will brush the south coast and is expected to bring two to five centimeteres of snow.
Meteorologists are warning of slippery road conditions due to snow and temperatures near freezing.
“Although the amounts today are not really anticipated to be just as much as Tuesday's amount, we can anticipate the snow to impact the afternoon or this evening's commute as it can be a snow-rain mix, causing things to become slushy and dicey,” said Derek Lee, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
There’s also a risk of freezing rain in some areas.
“Snowfall accumulations will generally be light given precipitation rate, strength of the outflow winds and the humidity of the near surface atmospheric layer,” wrote Environment Canada in a weather bulletin.
It says the timing is likely to be during this afternoon's commute and into the evening hours.
“This event will have significantly less snow than Tuesday's event,” wrote the weather agency.
Earlier this week, a significant dump of snow across the Lower Mainland caused commuter chaos.
Icy conditions triggered a series of accidents which shutdown most of the arterial routes in the region.
That included the Alex Fraser Bridge where many drivers were stranded for upwards of eight hours, some even opted to stay in their vehicles overnight.
“The ground wasn't super cold at the time and then there was a bit of dusting of snowfall before the main bulk came. So maybe there was a little bit of a melt during the day from the salt with a little bit of snow before that huge dump came. So it was kind of icy before the main dump of snow came,” said Lee.
BCAA says it handled more than 4500 roadside assistance calls on Tuesday and Wednesday, a 40 per cent increase compared to a typical day.
A number of local politicians are now calling for a snow summit.
They’d like the ministry of transportation, TransLink, contractors, paramedics, local cities and their mayors to get together and determine what went wrong and how to prevent a disaster like that from happening again.
Environment Canada says don’t put your snow shovel away just yet. it’s a La Nina year, meaning more snow is likely.
“We can see a little bit of warm up beginning next week and it will be a gradual warm up. So don't count on it being totally just rain yet in the forecast next week,” said Lee.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s St John Alexander and Abigail Turner
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.