South Coast residents got an early taste of winter overnight as storms dumped centimeters of snow across the region.
Environment Canada says between five and eight centimeters fell on most Metro Vancouver communities, with heavier buildups reported on Vancouver Island.
Victoria saw about 13 centimetres of snow overnight while Nanaimo, the hardest hit island community, accumulated 24 centimetres.
Whistler Mountain, which opened to skiers and snowboarders six days early on Friday, got about 10 centimetres of fresh snow.
Environment Canada says a low pressure centre brought moisture down the coast, where it mixed with cold arctic winds from the interior and created widespread snowfall.
No more snowfall is forecast in the region for Saturday or Sunday.
Power outages
The storms also downed trees onto power lines across the Lower Mainland, cutting electricity to thousands of BC Hydro customers.
Crews went to work restoring service overnight, but by 2 p.m. Saturday more than 18,000 customers were still without power.
The communities of Abbotsford, Burnaby, Duncan, Comox, Courtenay and Qualicum Beach were among the hardest hit.
Most major traffic routes in Metro Vancouver were salted and plowed by Saturday morning and only a few bus routes were affected.
Though SkyTrains and most buses were up and running, TransLink spokesman Drew Snider advised commuters to dress warm and expect some delays.
Snider added that transit service could be affected on Sunday if melted snow turns into black ice overnight.
