Storm bringing up to 90 mm of rain to Metro Vancouver
Rain warnings | Snow warnings | Wind warnings | Transit advisories
This week's winter storm is officially out in full force.
Rain, wind and snowfall warnings are in effect for B.C.'s South Coast, from the west coast of Vancouver Island to the West Kootenay. Metro Vancouver, in particular, is in for a deluge of rain.
Here's a breakdown of those advisories:
Rain
Environment Canada says the following regions can expect between 70 and 90 millimetres of rain by Friday morning. Localized flooding and washouts near rivers and creeks are possible.
Metro Vancouver (North Shore to Maple Ridge)
Fraser Valley
Howe Sound
Snow
The weather agency has forecast a dump of snow in these areas, which includes several major highways. Drivers are asked to slow down and be careful on the roads.
Coquihalla Highway (Hope to Merritt) — Up to 15 centimetres
Whistler — 20-25 centimetres
Sea to Sky — 20-25 centimetres
Trans-Canada Highway (Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass) — 15-30 centimetres
Highway 3 (Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass) — 15-30 centimetres
Myson Effa said he was driving the Sea to Sky between Pemberton and Whistler when he hit a traffic jam caused by slushy conditions around 9 a.m. PT.
Effa usually makes the trip in 20 minutes, but said it would take closer to an hour on Thursday.
"This is one of the worst times ever ... crawling at 20 km/h, but we were dead stopped for a while at Emerald Lake," Effa said.
Wind
Gusts of 70-100 km/h are expected in these parts of the province on Thursday, particularly in the most exposed areas:
Metro Vancouver
West Vancouver Island
East Vancouver Island
Sunshine Coast
Transit advisories
The SkyTrain Millennium Line between Commercial-Broadway and VCC Clark will experience delays Thursday after an overnight landslide.
Mud and debris ran onto the SkyTrain track after rain caused flooding behind a retaining wall. The stretch will be running on a single line all day.
"We would have to power down the system in order to inspect so that will happen overnight," said TransLink spokesperson Jill Drews.
Customers going to and from VCC Clark will have to transfer to a shuttle train at Commercial.
The South Coast has been battered by winter weather this week. On Tuesday, pouring rain caused flooding, road closures, traffic disruptions and SkyTrain delays in Metro Vancouver.
