Snow hits parts of Metro Vancouver, more in the forecast

Late-season snowfall caught some commuters off guard and snarled traffic on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Will we see more winter weather?

Snow fell in parts of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island on Tuesday, and more is expected this week.

East Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and Coquitlam all saw various amounts of snowfall. While other areas saw more of a mix of snow and rain.

One area hit particularly hard was the Alberni Valley, where truckers were forced to pull over and chain up due to the conditions on a hilly stretch of highway.

In Burnaby, a section of Cariboo Road became something of an ice rink, forcing a number of buses and large trucks to pull over after it was clear they wouldn’t be able to get traction.

Snow this late in the season, in this part of the country, doesn’t happen very often.

“Most of the snow is recorded in the December, January, February period,” Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Terri Lang told CTV News on Tuesday. “Not so much in the March period just because, you’re already tapping into the warmer air, the sun is getting stronger, that type of thing.”

As for what’s next, more snow could be on the way due to lingering arctic air.

“We’re expecting another, a little bit juicier, system coming through Wednesday night into Thursday,” said Lang. “So, more snow coming through and with it, we’re expecting some winds.”

Lang added if you’re travelling in the coming days, especially at higher elevations, the forecast should be factored into your planning.

The Coquihalla Highway in particular is expecting something in the range of 30 to 50 centimetres of snow in the coming days.