Snowfall records broken on B.C.'s South Coast

The Vancouver, Abbotsford and Victoria airports shattered daily snowfall records Wednesday, seeing the highest-ever accumulations for Jan. 17.

"There were some pretty good totals," Armel Castellan, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada told CTV News Thursday morning.

"Some of them officially hit records."

In Vancouver, the airport saw 27.2 centimetres fall, breaking a record of just 13.5 centimetres that was set in 1982. The 29.2 centimetres that accumulated in Abbotsford broke the record of a mere 7.4 centimetres set in 1970. Victoria's airport saw 10.8 centimetres of snow, more than double the previous record of 5.1 set in 1994.

Given that storms can span several days and that the usually temperate South Coast can see long stretches with no snow at all, Castellan notes that same-day snowfall records are relatively easy to break. For example, Wednesday's total in Vancouver made it the 10th snowiest day on record. The blizzard of 1996 still holds the title for the snowiest event in the province's history when it brought more than 40 centimetres to Vancouver's Airport and more than 60 to Victoria's.

Preliminary data from Environment and Climate Change Canada shows that even if all-time records weren't broken, much more than the 20 centimetres of snow that was initially forecast fell in communities across the Lower Mainland.

Snow began falling late Tuesday night and didn’t let up until Wednesday evening, blanketing the South Coast. School districts declared a snow day and people who had to be on the roads faced treacherous conditions.

On the Lower Mainland, Chilliwack has the highest total at 39 centimetres, followed by Surrey's Cloverdale area at 32 and Port Coquitlam at 31. Those totals came via "weather watcher reports" and not from the agency's stations.

The following is a list of total accumulation, in centimetres for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, ranked from highest to lowest, including reports from weather watchers.

• Chilliwack: 39
• Cloverdale: 32
• Port Coquitlam: 31
• Burnaby: 30
• Abbotsford Airport: 29
• Vancouver Airport: 27.2
• North Vancouver: 28
• Richmond: 27
• White Rock: 25
• West Vancouver: 22
• Pitt Meadows: 26
• Coquitlam: 18
• Hope: 14

On Vancouver Island, Qualicum Beach saw the most snow, with 21 centimetres, and Campbell River saw the least, with three.

"Please note that this summary may contain preliminary or unofficial information and does not constitute a complete or final report," ECCC cautions.