As much of 10 to 20 centimetres of snow is expected to fall today in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, according to Environment Canada.
A snowfall warning is in effect at Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, where periods of snow are expected to continue until Monday.
A low pressure centre off the west coast of Vancouver Island is causing moist maritime air to overrun cold arctic air in the low levels, causing areas of heavy snowfall over the Inner South Coast.
The highest amounts are forecast for the Fraser Valley, where up to 20 cm of further snowfall is likely through Sunday morning.
About 20 cm of snow had fallen at Abbotsford Airport by 4 a.m. today.
A few more centimetres of snow are forecast for the remainder of the regions, mainly this morning and again tonight, with accumulations of around 2 to 4 cm today and again tonight, with lesser amounts near the Strait of Georgia and higher amounts inland and over higher terrain.
“Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow,” warns Environment Canada.
Power is out is several locations in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, affecting thousands of B.C. Hydro customers.
The largest, affecting more than 2,500 customers, is along the Fraser River, from Fraser Way in Pitt Meadows and extending up to River Road in Maple Ridge.
Wintry conditions across Metro Vancouver are also impacting transit service.
“Poor weather conditions continue, and we advise all customers to allow for extra travel time,” said TransLink. “We continue to work closely with our municipal partners to ensure all bus routes are plowed first, however some bus routes are currently impacted due to road conditions.
HandyDART is currently operating essential services only for renal and cancer patients in Maple Ridge.
The current warning follows heavy snowfall in December.
• Check transit alerts on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/translink).
Monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ec.tempetepacifique-pacificstorm.ec@canada.ca or tweet reports to #BCStorm.
