LOWER MAINLAND (NEWS1130) – It was another day of chaos on the roads as the Lower Mainland dealt with back-to-back days of snow, freezing rain, and sleet.
We’ve received many photos of snow around the region via Twitter to @News1130Radio.
In downtown Vancouver, the snow was mixed with rain.
News1130 will continue with full coverage on-air and online of how the weather will affect your commute, as well as any school closures as a result of the snow.
Meteorologist Russ Lacate is keeping us updated with the latest forecast.
“The side streets are getting more of it right now because the crews got a really nice head start last night with all the salting and sanding, that’s made a huge difference. We have the snow falling and most of the main roads appear to be wet. That’s great news,” Lacate says.
“I’m expecting that it’ll all change to rain in Metro Vancouver. We’re probably still talking about snow falling in Mission, Chilliwack, and all the eastern regions of the Fraser Valley,” he explains.
An ugly morning commute
News1130′s Jesse Johnston drove around the city, giving a first-hand account on road conditions. He says there was a consistent, ugly mix of rain and snow. “The fear is that it’ll turn into snow later on, making for a nasty drive into work. Bad roads are also a big concern with temperatures hovering right around that zero mark. So far, it’s just wet and my tires haven’t been spinning at all.”
“It’s when you get off on the side streets that things start to turn nasty. I pulled off of Oak onto 53rd Avenue and there are at least a few centimetres on the road here,” Johnston describes. “As far as Vancouver goes, it seems the further south you get, the worse it is.”
We’ve been hearing a lot about trucks jack-knifing and getting stuck on the snowy streets and hills.
Geoff Godding is a trucker who called us this morning to explain it’s all about keeping moving. “I’m pulling a trailer that’s all dead weight, as long as your rolling, and I’ve got my inter-axel locks, so I’ve locked all the wheels together, I have my snow tires on, but it’s just sheer ice.”
Geoff also warns other drivers not to pull up too close behind a semi on snowy roads, because the truck has to roll back a bit to get going again.
News1130′s Sonia Aslam spent the morning riding the SkyTrain and buses. “I rode the B-Line down the Roberts Corridor and that was really rough, things are really backed up.” Aslam says she waiting for the bus at Broadway and Commercial with almost 100 other people. “People are pushing and shoving to get on, they are desperate to get on a bus, you can tell.”
For up to the minute traffic updates, you can follow us on Twitter @News1130Traffic and @News1130Weather or subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox. You can also listen live to traffic reports every 10 minutes on the ones.
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North Surrey/Whalley was quite ugly. And so were the roads!
Has anyone heard or seen what it is like in Central Coquitlam? Or even Port Moody?
Bus Ride from S. Surrey to King George Skytrain at 7:30 am was uneventful as the bus plowed through any slush on the King George Blvd. There seemed to be less drivers on the road. The skytrain into Vancouver seemed like any other commute at that time of the day. I was happy to have NOT driven today after a 3 hr commute yesterday stuck on one side of the Alex Fraser Bridge, then the Queensborough Bridge.
Park Royal has no power right now.
Park Royal is renovating and the General contractor probably had some issues. Not related to the weather.. Sheesh!
I came in to work like I usually do. Port Man, Millennium Line, 99 B line. I actually got here earlier than usual. No problems. Actually the Skytrain was empty. And the 99 had hardly anyone. Don’t know what this reporter is talking about.
I live in the College Park area of Port Moody, just off the Clark Road hill (also known as Snake Hill) and we are just completely blanketed in snow this AM and it’s still coming down! The snow plows don’t come through my townhouse complex, so we are more or less trapped in here unless you’ve got snow tires and a big vehicle – which I don’t – and even if we could make it out, I’m really not sure what the surrounding (steep!) hills are like! I’m not repeating yesterday’s death-defying, 3 hour nightmare commute, until it’s a little safer out there!