Wednesday January 15, 2020 ~ WEST SHORE
~ West Shore Voice News
The weather forecast was bang on… lots of snow (about 15 cm in the west shore) and a lot of cold wind to blow it around overnight last night saw a blanket of the white stuff all over Greater Victoria and the south island this morning, Wednesday January 15.
The snow is light and fluffy so it’s easy to shovel, but packs down so that later on can become icy as it becomes compacted and as temperatures rise allowing for some melting.
Urban areas are very quiet without the usual buzz of vehicle traffic and people being out and about. Some people are out walking their dogs.
As of 9:30 am on this snow-laden morning there are just 1,118 BC Hydro customers without power (13 outage areas) down from 4,130 at 7:45 am. Crews are working hard at restorations. Most of the current outages are in the Sooke region (654 customers without power in 3 outage events between about 8:15 and 9:15 am this morning) due to the snow storm. But that’s down from the 2,055 Sooke area customers without power at 7:30 am this morning.
The DriveBC webcam service online is dragging its heels today due to user overload. “Slow load times due to ongoing network issues have been reported on BC HwyCams. Our technicians have been alerted and normal service will resume as soon as possible.”
Schools are closed in all three public school districts. As posted on the school district websites:
- VICTORIA: Due to heavy snowfall overnight, all SD61 schools in the Greater Victoria School District are CLOSED today (Jan. 15th, 2020). All rentals are also cancelled.
- SOOKE/WEST SHORE: Schools in SD62 are closed today due to inclement weather. Stay warm and stay safe!
- SAANICH: In SD63 all Saanich Schools are CLOSED on Wed Jan 15th because of unsafe road conditions on the peninsula.
At the post-secondary institutions around Greater Victoria, also closures:
- Camosun College: Due to heavy snowfall overnight Camosun College will be CLOSED. All day and evening classes are cancelled for today. Students and employees are urged to be safe and take care if they have to travel.
- University of Victoria: Due to snow overnight, classes are cancelled and the University of Victoria is closed today, Wednesday, January 15.
- Royal Roads University. Campus is closed and on-site classes cancelled January 15. For students staying on campus, Habitat Café will be open 7 am to 7 pm. Crews will clear paths and Campus Security is available 24 hrs at 250-391-2525.
As for rec centres in the west shore and Sooke:
- Most programs are cancelled at West Shore Recreation (Juan de Fuca Rec) in Colwood today.
- In Sooke at SEAPARC Leisure Complex they say: “Facility is open – come by for a swim or to warm up in the hot tub and sauna” but many programs are cancelled including the licenced preschool (morning and afternoon), skate lessons, Taekwando, drop-in pickleball, zumba in the circuit, easy fit, and aqua classes.
Capital Regional District (CRD) Committee and Commission meetings are cancelled today due to inability to achieve quorum under poor travel conditions due to snow. All agenda items for the the Planning, Transportation & Protective Services Committee, Regional Water Supply Commission, and Environmental Services Committee will be deferred to the next meeting or sent to the February 12, 2020 Regional Board Meeting as required.
Anyone with a Wednesday bluebox curbside pickup should note there is no pickup today.
Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 15 cm can be expected today — including up to 15 cm on the Malahat, says Environment Canada. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.
Otherwise, it looks like the worst of the snow is mostly over, but then it turns to rain. Today’s Environment Canada forecast for Victoria is a high of 4°C (but still -4° C at 9 am). The latest forecast at 9 am is for snow ending early this morning then cloudy with a 40% chance of flurries this morning: “Snow at times mixed with rain beginning near noon, wind southeast 30 to 50 km/h. High 4°C and wind chill -11°C this morning.”
For tonight the forecast is for rain, which will make for icy road conditions. Wind is forecast as southeast 30 to 50 km/h except 80 near Haro Strait; the wind warning is that winds will shift abruptly to the southwest late overnight or Thursday morning in the wake of the low with gusty winds. Tonight’s low temperature will be 1°C with some snow mixed with rain.