Vancouver: A series of ferry and flight cancellations on B.C.’s South Coast due to heaps of blowing snow and unusually frigid temperatures have led to travel commotion near peak holiday travel season urged residents on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island to stay home Tuesday because road conditions are not safe.
The ongoing deep freeze included a low of –46.8 C west of Williams Lake, while the Quesnel area broke a record set 78 years ago when it reached a low of –37.5 C.
The weather has forced “mass cancellations” overnight at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and several planes full of passengers have been sitting on the tarmac for many hours, unable to return to the gate to let passengers deplane.
Travelers are asked to check their flight status before leaving home and those with canceled flights are asked to not come to the airport.
As for travel by sea, B.C. Ferries has canceled sailings on all three of its major routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland due to the weather.
Much of the Lower Mainland was blanketed with Heavy snow overnight, covering parts of southern Vancouver Island in roughly 25 centimeters, while Metro Vancouver is coping with as much as 15 centimeters.
“This snowfall is quite significant for the Lower Mainland, in an area that does not typically doesn’t receive heavy snow,” Environment Canada meteorologist Jonathan Bau reported saying adding Vancouver Island was the “hardest hit.”
“The amount of snow that we’ve seen is toward the rare side of the scale.”
Northern B.C. is covered in extreme cold or Arctic outflow warnings, with frigid conditions expected to continue this week.
#Heavysnow; #BCSouthCoast
