Posted on: February 22, 2023
Environment Canada has issued a heavy snowfall warning for East Vancouver Island from Duncan to Fanny Bay today and tonight. Inland Vancouver Island, Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands will receive snow as well.
For East Vancouver Island, Duncan to Fanny Bay: A low pressure centre over the Washington Coast will spread snow to the southern half of Vancouver Island. Outflow conditions are generating snow streamers off the Strait of Georgia and will likely lead to localized areas of rapidly accumulating snow. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 15 cm can be expected with the highest amounts inland.
Meawnwhile, 5 to 10 cm of snow are expected for Inland Vancouver Island, Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands.
Wind and rapidly accumulating snow will bring challenging travel conditions due to slippery road surfaces and low visibilities in blowing snow.
Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions.
The Vancouver Island Toyota 4 x 4 Club has once again offered to help those in need of a ride. See more info here.
- Travel & Driving Hazards
- Be aware of and prepared for bad weather travel, refer to Shift Into Winter with DriveBC.
- Take advantage of the free Winter Driving Safety Toolkit & Course from WorkSafeBC to implement a winter driving safety program for your team.
- Winter driving safety tips.
- Potential Power Outages
- Be familiar with the emergency plan for your area/unit, to know their roles & what to do.
- Review resources such as Power Outage Preparedness (Video) to increase their personal preparedness for power outages at home and in their communities. For more resources, see below.
- Localized Flooding
- Ensure building perimeter drains are cleared of debris
- Road closures and unsafe driving conditions
- Monitor weather forecasts and warnings closely for updates e.g.
- To report severe weather send an email to: BCstorm@ec.gc.ca or tweet reports using #BCStorm
- For emergency operational concerns, please follow your established contingency plans as well as contacting HEMBC On-Call for assistance on 1.250.370.8575.
Other resources: