It was a bit late in coming, but the Sunshine Coast got its first taste of winter weather over the weekend, leading to bus and ferry cancellations on Sunday.
Enviroment Canada said an Arctic outflow bringing cold air from the Interior collided with a warm, wet air system on the south coast, produced the snow that started overnight Feb. 2 and continued through Sunday, with accumulations of anywhere from three to seven centimetres on the Sunshine Coast.
Meteorologist Karmen Hartt said that’s well short of the record for Feb. 3, which was 16.4 centimetres in 2017.
Sunshine Coast RCMP and Capilano Highways were both warning people Sunday not to drive unless they had to, and recommending drivers whose vehicles weren’t equipped with snow tires to stay off the roads.
Sunshine Coast Transit cancelled service Sunday on several bus routes, including along Gibsons Way, Marine Drive, the lower Gibsons Loop as well as Halfmoon Bay and the Sechelt Arena because buses were having trouble making it safely up hills.
Sunshine Coast RCMP said Monday that while there were several minor incidents, such as cars sliding off the road into ditches, there were no major accidents and no reports of injuries.
It wasn’t just the snow that caused problems Sunday. BC Ferries cancelled the 7:50 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale and the 8:55 p.m out of Langdale because the outflow winds through Howe Sound were gusting at over 100 km/h.
As of Monday morning, bus and ferry service was back to normal, although Sunshine Coast Transit said that because of low hanging wires buses would not travel along Marine Drive, although Route 1 service would continue into Lower Gibsons.
Road conditions were described as “slushy with slippery sections” along Highway 101.
School District No. 46 had schools open, but some school buses were cancelled in areas like Halfmoon Bay, Sandy Hook, Tuwanek, and Bonniebrook.
The District of Sechelt said snow removal crews were finishing up in residential areas and making an extra pass through bad areas. The district also said some of the work was slowed by vehicles, boats, trailers and other items on road rights-of-way.
The Town of Gibsons said there are still some icy areas on Town-maintained roads, sidewalks and parking lots, in part because colder than expected temperatures made salt less effective. The Town also said if temperatures go down to -8 C crews may add sand to the mix.
Both municipalities were telling residents that garbage or recycling pickup might be missed on Monday. Residents of Gibsons who don't get pickup will be allowed to put out twice the usual amount for next week's pickup. In Sechelt, people who do not get recycling pick up on Monday can place extra recycling in a second bin or a cardboard box for next week's collection. The district will also make a on-time exception if residents need to put out extra recycling next week in a clear plastic bag.
The forecast calls for the cold air to stick around through the week, and Hartt said that will mean temperatures around 10 degrees colder than usual for early February. There’s also another chance of snow or flurries on Thursday.
Updates on Transit and school buses is available at www.scrd.ca and www.sd46.bc.ca. Updates on garbage and recycling pickup in Gibsons and Sechelt will be posted at www.gibsons.ca and www.sechelt.ca
