BC Sees Massive Snow Dump

Photo Credit: Hello BC

At the beginning of February, the Lower Mainland received a massive snow dump, providing welcome relief to skiers following a subpar season last year — but leaving drivers with sub-optimal conditions.

Simon McDonald (8), who has been skiing on Mount Baker in Washington State, says that “the weather has been pretty good; there’s been lots of snow.” 

Joy Wang (10), added, “There wasn’t much snow in December — in the beginning of the season — but in January there was lots of powder everywhere.”

Thanks to the new crisp snow dump, it’s a great time to head up to the hills to enjoy the snow, she says. Wang recommends readers the one-to-five day pass to save time and money if they plan to ski at Cypress Mountain.

The snow comes as ski resorts across the province aim to recover after last season, which was Canada’s hottest winter on record. Conditions were so poor that the BC Winter Games events at Troll Ski Resort near Quesnel, BC were canceled due to a lack of snow.

Even prior to the February snowfall in Vancouver, resorts in other parts of the province have had an overwhelmingly successful winter. Big White Ski Resort had one of its best opening days, said Senior Vice-President Michael J. Ballingall, with over 103 cm of snow covering its slopes and 2,500 visitors.

“Everyone has a ton of snow. [...] It’s snowing like crazy. I mean this stuff is white gold,” he told Vancouver is Awesome.

Where there’s snow, there’s also ice, and BC saw much of both. Mostly in the Lower Mainland, main highways were snowed and iced over, causing significant backlogs.

On Feb. 2, traffic on Highway 1 stalled a few kilometers off the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge on the North Shore. According to DriveBC, multiple cars spun out, and normal traffic was only restored by 11:30 AM.

CityNews reported on Feb. 3 that the stretch of Highway 1 from Langley to Chilliwack was littered with vehicles stuck in ditches. Commercial vehicles were unable to climb hilly portions of the highway and tow trucks were brought in to assist.

The snowfall was caused by a cold front from Alaska — a natural phenomenon that occurs when cold air pushes under hot air — which moved towards BC, and brought cold weather and precipitation.

Before this, BC’s ski hills faced a long period of warmer temperatures and lack of precipitation, which led to not nearly enough snow to cover ski hills completely; many runs had bare spots, or large rocks only a couple centimetres below the surface.

The cold temperatures and snow this winter also eventually brought cold weather to the BC coast, covering major cities like Victoria and Vancouver with more than a dozen centimeters of snow. However, the snowfall varied significantly throughout the Vancouver region. By noon on Feb. 2, parts of West Vancouver had 24 cm of snow, while Downtown Vancouver had just 10 cm. Ladner had even less. 

Other parts of BC also experienced a cold snap. Temperatures dipped below -30°C in much of the Interior and Northern BC. Residents of Dawson Creek, BC woke up to a temperature of -39°C on Feb. 4.