Snow catches many Lower Mainlanders by surprise Thursday

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Many people on the Lower Mainland were caught off guard by snowfall early Thursday morning.

While snow is expected to ease off later in the morning and turn to rain, the road conditions were less than ideal for some drivers to start the day.

Coquitlam, BC pic.twitter.com/ABqxC1MRQX

— Julinena (@Julinena2) February 25, 2021

You can’t even see tracks on the road, (Highway 17) is just complete snow,” said Jim just before 5 a.m.

“I commute from Abbotsford to Delta and the 176th Street hill is not in good shape,” explained Jim, adding it didn’t appear the plows had been out yet despite heavy snowfall.

He’s just one of the many people surprised by the snow Thursday.

Derek Brown was driving from Maple Ridge, headed for Vancouver, when he called NEWS 1130.

“The roads are getting very icy and there’s quite a bit of wet snow coming down,” he said. “There’s no plows or any sort of snow removal equipment on the roads I’ve seen yet.”

His advice is for people to leave early and to drive to conditions as the snowfall dissipates.

“[The snow] is pulling the vehicles around. I have a four-wheel drive vehicle, but still, it’s pulling me around. It seems to be building up quite fast and it’s icing over,” Brown said, asking for people to “be safe.”

Just a reminder to please drive carefully during snowfall. NWPD has responded to collisions involving vehicles sliding on the roads. #newwest @NEWS1130

— New Westminster Police Department (@NewWestPD) February 25, 2021

Wes also reported snow and icy conditions on the roads.

“I was just on Highway 1 heading westbound from Langley to Surrey and it’s snowing pretty bad and getting pretty icy on the freeway. There’s a vehicle already off in the median around 168th Street there where the pedestrian overpass is,” he told NEWS 1130 just before 4 a.m. “It’s pretty dicey.”

He noted there was little in the way of plowing being done that time of the morning, and also urged people to slow down.

“It kind of catches up on you,” Wes explained of the snow. “I get on the freeway at 200th and it gets heavy in a hurry.”

Slippery road conditions weren’t isolated to the highways. People from Vancouver, Burnaby, and other areas on the Lower Mainland have been calling in to report similar situations. There have also been calls from people reporting barely any snow — it all depends on where you are.

Meteorologist Michael Kuss says the snow in higher elevations is expected to end early on in the day. He says conditions will be slightly unsettled into the afternoon, with the forecast calling for isolated showers.

Snow around the Tri-Cities this morning and at high elevations. This is the view from @SFU on Burnaby Mountain at 4 AM. Already a couple cm on the ground. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/TazeyMhm5R

— Michael Kuss (@Kusswx) February 25, 2021

-With files from Monika Gul