Enjoy the sunny break, more snow on the way for Metro Vancouver
Posted January 16, 2020 3:08 pm.
Last Updated January 16, 2020 10:48 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Don’t be fooled by melting snow, as stormy weather continues to make any kind of travel risky in parts of the Lower Mainland.
While some areas have seen sunny breaks, others have been experiencing brief whiteout conditions. Regardless of where you are, everyone is being asked to watch out for more snow.
NEWS 1130 Meteorologist Michael Kuss says another five centimetres of snow is on the way for the East Metro Vancouver region and the Fraser Valley.
Snowfall Warning issued for East Metro Vancouver and West Fraser Valley. This band of snow is intense but should move through pretty quickly. Under it look for limited visibility and bursts of 5 cm of snow. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/nm5mZLSRiD
— Michael Kuss (@Kusswx) January 16, 2020
“We’ve had some spotty flurries already through the day today and we will get a little more of that into the evening. But there’s a wave that could be a little more widespread for tomorrow morning,” he says, adding there will be another burst of wind too.
ICBC’s road safety coordinator says the latest cold snap has been keeping dial-a-claim operators busy.
RELATED: Two out of three B.C. damage claims from Lower Mainland: ICBC
“In the last six days we’ve received over 18,000 calls to our dial-a-claim centres, which is a significant increase, of course,” Joanne Bergman says, adding that does not necessarily mean all of the calls were claims.
She says the majority of the latest claims have been rear-end crashes.
“What we do want to do is remind people to leave a lot of space between vehicles. It’s still slippery out there. It’s going to get a little bit icy. It’s going to get a little bit worse as we move on to the rain and the warmer temperatures,” she says.
.@icbc’s latest dial-a-claim stats show 18K+ calls made across #BC since Friday and more than 12.5K involve #LowerMainland drivers. That’s up from previous week. #BCStorm @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/7F6EIdbYVf
— Marcella Bernardo (@Bernardo1130) January 16, 2020
Given the recent conditions, Bergman stresses the need to stay off the roads if possible.
The fluctuating temperatures even led to part of the Seawall at Stanley Park closing because of falling ice Thursday afternoon.
We have closed the #StanleyPark seawall between the Lions Gate Bridge and Siwash Rock due to falling ice. The rest of the seawall remains open. #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/eA5syApvKx
— Vancouver Park Board (@ParkBoard) January 16, 2020
Meantime, BC Hydro says it is still dealing with a number of outages caused by Wednesday night’s storm, where at one point up to 30,000 customers were without power.
“Restoration times will depend on area and the severity of outage and safe access for crews to complete the work. We really do appreciate our customer’s patience as this repair work continues,” she says.
The outages have dropped to about 2,500 on Vancouver Island and under 1,500 in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast region.
Potential delays on bus and SkyTrain routes may still be going throughout the day.
TransLink announced one of the West Coast Express departures has been cancelled.
#WCE West Coast Express to Mission City trip leaving Waterfront Station at 4:20 pm is cancelled today due to mechanical issue. ^tm
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) January 16, 2020
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You can also follow meteorologists Russ Lacate and Michael Kuss on Twitter for the latest on the weather conditions. Catch their reports every 10 minutes after traffic.