Heavy snow forecast for B.C.'s Lower Mainland triggers warning against non-essential travel

Environment Canada is urging British Columbians to avoid non-essential travel with yet another snow storm forecast for the Lower Mainland this week.

Nearly the entire province is under a winter storm warning, and already icy road conditions left behind from previous storms could become even more dangerous.

Heavy snow and freezing rain is set to arrive Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The latest round of intense winter weather will come as crews across the Lower Mainland are already playing catchup from a dump of snow Tuesday evening which caused icy conditions and long delays.

Boundary Road in Burnaby was significantly impacted.

Trucks struggled to navigate hills and streets that were under several centimetres of snow and slush.

Even service vehicles were no match for some of the conditions, unable to free buses that were stranded.

TransLink acknowledged some routes saw delays of three to four hours Tuesday, as multiple buses were stuck in the snow.

Dozens were also at a standstill on Vancouver's Granville Street Bridge.

Side streets were also treacherous, but it was the major routes that saw the biggest headaches for motorists and transit drivers.

"City doesn't clear all the roads so I come up the hill and the bus starts sliding back. It's a very dangerous situation,” said Sam Saini, a bus driver who was stuck for four hours.

Snow resumed falling early Wednesday morning, triggering a number of road closures on hills in Metro Vancouver.

The HOV lane of the Port Mann Bridge was also closed while crews used snow collars to prevent ice bombs.

ENVIRONMENT CANADA WARNINGS

Almost all of British Columbia was put under an Environment Canada weather warning Wednesday morning.

Winter storm warnings were issued for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley with hazardous conditions expected.

Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, the North Shore, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Langley, Richmond and Delta are all forecast to see 10 to 20 centimetres of snow.

Howe Sound and the Fraser Valley could be under 30 centimetres.

“Freezing rain likely in the Fraser Valley and possible over eastern Metro Vancouver. Reduced visibility in blowing snow in the Fraser Valley,” an advisory from Environment Canada said.

A low-pressure system will arrive Wednesday night, bringing heavy snow across the South Coast.

“On Thursday, snow will begin to transition to rain across Metro Vancouver as the system brings in milder air and temperatures begin to rise.”

The western and central Fraser Valley including Abbotsford and Chilliwack will likely see freezing rain as the cold air lingers.

The eastern Fraser Valley, including Hope, and Howe Sound are expected to remain cold enough that more snow will fall all day Thursday.

“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve,” warned Environment Canada.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos and Mi-Jung Lee