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UPDATED: Snowstorm brings up to 15 centimetres of snow to North Shore

Commuters face rush hour challenges while ski hills celebrate first blast of winter; communities bracing for second storm on Thursday

Editor's Note: This story has been updated throughout.

It’s one down, one to go. North Shore residents woke up to the first blast of winter Monday morning as snow fell across North and West Vancouver. The next blast of winter is forecast to blow in midday on Thursday.

Upper elevations saw up to 15 centimetres of snow by noon Monday, while areas of Central Lonsdale were reporting up to 7 cm.

Municipal snowplows and salting trucks were out in force Monday afternoon while snow continued to fall.

Nine municipal trucks were on the road since around 4 a.m. in the District of North Vancouver Monday, said spokeswoman Stephanie Smiley, with a full crew scheduled around the clock. Main roads had been salted and cleared by noon, and crews were continuing to work on secondary roads. Plowing and salting crews were also out in West Vancouver, which received some of the heavier snow accumulations on local roads, and in upper elevations of the City of North Vancouver.

Rush hours still proved challenging for some drivers.

Both North Vancouver RCMP and West Vancouver Police Department said there had been reports of some vehicles spinning off the road, but no significant accidents or damage.

Hills in Horseshoe Bay, the highway north of that and upper areas of the British Properties appeared to be the trouble spots in West Vancouver between about 5:30 and 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Corp. Richard De Jong of North Vancouver RCMP said several fender benders had also been reported higher on Mountain Highway and on higher elevation areas near Grouse and Lynn Valley.

Those trying to take transit to get to work in those areas weren’t faring much better Monday morning. Some buses in the Caulfield and Horseshoe Bay areas had to be rerouted and there was very limited service to the British Properties Monday morning, said Anne Drennan, spokeswoman for TransLink. Other buses were delayed by between 30 and 60 minutes.

In North Vancouver, one transit bus slid on a slippery patch on Mountain Highway and went off the road and into a tree near Coleman street. Two passengers reported minor injuries while the windshield of the bus was damaged. An SUV reportedly rear-ended the bus as well, after being unable to stop.

HandyDART service was also reduced to essential service – meaning buses were only transporting cancer and dialysis patients and those with emergency medical appointments.

Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald said snowfall amounts were highly variable across the North Shore Monday morning, ranging from a mere “skiff” in some waterfront areas to significant accumulations higher up. Environment Canada’s weather station in West Vancouver near the Cypress Bowl exit from Highway 1 had measured more than 12 centimetres of snow by noon on Monday. Even areas of Central Lonsdale saw about 7 cm fall.

Schools in West Vancouver were closed Monday for a teachers’ professional development day. North Vancouver School District reported all schools were open.

While the snow made for a difficult commute, local ski hills were celebrating their bonanza. About 25 cm of snow fell overnight Sunday on Mount Seymour, reported Simon Whitehead, marketing manager for the ski hill. “It’s still snowing very hard,” he said midday Monday. “It’s beautiful white powder.”

By Tuesday morning 69 cm had fallen over the previous 48 hours.

Mount Seymour opened for skiing Nov. 30, a few days behind Cypress and Grouse. “It’s our earliest opening in six years,” said Whitehead. “We’re absolutely thrilled.”

Ski conditions are expected  to remain good as Arctic air moves into the south coast, bringing freezing temperatures and sunny skies.

“It’s only going to get colder in the next few days,” said MacDonald, with overnight lows Tuesday dipping to -7 C – eight degrees colder than usual.

By Thursday, the North Shore should brace for another snowstorm, said MacDonald, bringing potentially more snow than Monday’s weather system.

“There’s definitely more snow coming. The question is: how much?” he said. Meteorologists are expecting snowfall to begin in the afternoon and persist throughout the night, particularly over the higher elevations, including the North Shore.

The district has 14 plows ready to be called in and the North Vancouver school district is monitoring closely to see of closing any schools will be necessary. Municipalities are reminding residents and business owners to shovel and salt their sidewalks. The snow may change to rain sometime Friday but temperatures are expected to hover around the freezing mark throughout the weekend, MacDonald said.

“If we take a look at the extended model, this cool pattern of temperatures four or five degrees below normal looks to persist right through the middle of the month,” he said.
MacDonald said he already has people asking him about the likelihood of a white Christmas. Typically, the odds of that are about one in 10.

“Given the snow we saw yesterday and the additional snow coming Thursday and the persistent cold weather, I would bump that up to maybe a 40 or 50 per cent chance of a white Christmas this year,” he said.