Dangerous travel across the South Coast as heavy snow lasts into Sunday
Snow began to fall across much of British Columbia’s South Coast during the day on Saturday, and this bout of wintry precipitation will pick up in both coverage and intensity through the overnight hours.
It’s been a couple of months since we’ve seen this kind of snowfall across the South Coast, so residents should prepare for travel disruptions and post-storm cleanup accordingly.
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A moisture-laden low-pressure system sliding down the coast met up with Arctic air flowing out of the interior to lay down a blanket of snow across much of the South Coast this weekend.
Travel disruptions are likely through Sunday, especially across the mountain passes and on untreated side roads.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued snowfall warnings for all of the Lower Mainland, including Metro Vancouver, through Sunday morning.
“Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions,” ECCC said in its warning. “Rapidly accumulating snow will make travel difficult.”
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Snow will grow in both intensity and coverage on Saturday evening, eventually tapering off to wet snow flurries through Sunday for the South Coast and Vancouver Island. Peak snowfall rates of up to 5 cm an hour are possible during the worst of the snowstorm.
Gusty winds will accompany the cold front’s passage on Saturday evening. Low visibility is likely in spots where gusty winds accompany the snowfall.
We could see 15-25 cm of snow across Metro Vancouver by the end of the storm, with totals reaching over 25 cm across higher terrain.
Totals will vary across Greater Victoria with locally over 15 cm towards the West Shore communities and across the Malahat.
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Behind the storm, temperatures will slowly warm across the South Coast heading into next week, though near to below-seasonal temperatures are likely to stick around through at least the first few days of March.
Another round of unsettled weather will arrive early next week, bringing the potential for rain and snow across the region.
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Be sure to check back for the latest on this snowy system hitting B.C.
