Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island school districts closed while other regions reopen after snow day
Sunshine Coast also seeing school closures amid 4th snow day
Snowfall warnings have ended, but nearly a dozen school districts in the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast are closed again Wednesday due to snowy weather across the B.C. South Coast.
So far, the school districts and universities closed Wednesday are:
- Abbotsford (SD34).
- Agassiz (SD78).
- Chilliwack (SD33).
- Cowichan Valley (SD79).
- Fraser-Cascade (SD8).
- Greater Victoria (SD61).
- Gulf Islands (SD64).
- Nanaimo-Ladysmith (SD68).
- Powell River (SD47).
- Saanich (SD63).
- Sooke (SD62).
- Camosun College (Closed all day).
- The University of the Fraser Valley (Morning classes cancelled).
Early Wednesday, BC Transit announced bus service in the valley had been suspended for the day, but later said all central valley buses were running, albeit delayed.
More than two dozen school districts and several major universities across the region were closed Tuesday — some for the second day in a row — after a long, record-breaking snowy spell that began Sunday.
Howe Sound and Whistler are the only regions that remain under a weather warning for frigid arctic outflow, according to Environment Canada.
Conditions are still dicey on the roads across the South Coast. Highway 1, between the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver, is especially slippery. Drivers are asked to slow down and transit users should still leave extra travel time.
SkyTrains are being driven manually for the third day in a row due to ice buildup on the tracks. TransLink said this means passengers should expect longer gaps between trains and crowding at stations, especially during rush hour.
In northeastern B.C., an extreme cold warning is still in effect for the Peace River region, where wind chill values of –40 are forecast around Fort St. John.
Records broken
Hundreds of children swarmed parks across the region during their day off school Tuesday. The Vancouver School Board said it had been "many years" since it called a snow day, while the Burnaby School District said it's been more than two years.
Oh look. Every kid in the world is at Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen <a href="https://t.co/2y8mAKwATv">pic.twitter.com/2y8mAKwATv</a>
—@Jesse_JohnstonMost of Metro Vancouver has now seen three times the usual February average of six centimetres of snow.
On Vancouver Island, it's been the snowiest February in Victoria's history, with at least 55 centimetres and counting.
The provincial capital also had its snowiest three days since December 2008.
BC Hydro recorded its highest February peak hourly demand on Monday evening.