The most recent snowstorm is causing difficulties for cars and buses navigating icy roads in Metro Vancouver

As Metro Vancouver was hit by its latest snowstorm, drivers faced a chaotic Tuesday morning commute. Buses, in particular, struggled to navigate the icy and slushy roads in higher elevations, prompting TransLink to suspend service on several busy routes temporarily. Shruti Prakash Joshi, a spokesperson for TransLink, stated that the transit provider was doing everything possible to stay ahead of the changing weather conditions. The snow began accumulating around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, prompting weather warnings from Environment and Climate Change Canada for Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, parts of Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands.

The warnings were lifted by noon as the snowfall eased, though more winter weather is in the forecast for Wednesday. The latest storm also caused power outages, forced school closures, and led to cancelled flights and ferry sailings. Vancouver International Airport cancelled around 50 flights, while many others were delayed. The university cancelled all in-person classes, exams, university services, and campus activities until 10 a.m., but online classes continued as scheduled.

Due to staffing shortages related to the weather, several BC Ferries sailings between Tsawwassen and the Sunshine Coast were cancelled. Ferry vessels must meet specific staffing requirements mandated by Transport Canada to ensure there are enough crew members in case of an emergency. The cancelled sailings on the Salish Eagle were scheduled from 6:20 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. BC Ferries stated that their customer service centre would contact passengers with bookings on the cancelled sailings to let them know if they could be accommodated on a later sailing or if their booking had to be cancelled.

In addition, the snowfall prompted the closure of all public schools on the North Shore and several private schools across the region. Simon Fraser University cancelled all classes at its Burnaby campus, but classes at the Vancouver and Surrey campuses continued as usual, as did online courses. While the University of British Columbia did not cancel any classes on Tuesday, students were advised to wear sensible footwear.

Over the weekend, the last snowstorm caused more crashes, power outages, and flight cancellations. British Columbia broke several daily snowfall records, with the Abbotsford area receiving 19.3 centimetres of snowfall on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 6.6 cm set on February 26, 1956. Preliminary data from the weather agency also showed that snowfall records were broken in Kamloops and Williams Lake, which recorded 11 and 11.2 cm of snowfall, respectively.