Snow blankets B.C.'s South Coast after overnight winter storm

Residents of B.C.'s South Coast from Vancouver Island to Chilliwack are waking up to winter landscapes and snow-covered roads after a storm system swept through the region overnight.

Beginning Wednesday evening, the storm brought snowfall up to 15 centimetres in some areas, including Sechelt and North Cowichan.

An Environment Canada snowfall warning remains in place for much of the South Coast as light snow continues. It's expected to taper off later Thursday morning.

Environment Canada meteorologist Philippe-Alain Bergeron said the storm followed a somewhat unusual trajectory.

"It's a little compact storm that was making its way down the coast and it's really squeezed between that big upper ridge over the Pacific and that's why the trajectory was almost north to south," he said.

Meanwhile, arctic highs are still being felt over B.C's Interior and the Canadian Prairies. Bergeron said Thursday will be colder than average in British Columbia, but only by about 5 degrees compared to the 10 to 15 degrees colder-than-average temperatures experienced over the last few days.

Road crews have already been plowing highways, bridges and tunnels in the Lower Mainland.

Darren Ell, general manager for Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting, said 30 trucks from his company have been out for hours moving massive amounts of snow off provincial highways between the U.S. border and 1st Avenue.

"Vehicles are getting through, but it's winter driving conditions," he said. "If you don't have to come into work, stay home for a couple hours and come in later."

Mainroad does not clear city roads, which are the responsibility of the municipalities.

A City of Vancouver staff member said crews were out plowing and sanding roads all night and that the city's snow removal plan clears roadways in order of priority, starting with bus routes, arterials and bridges, emergency evacuation routes and routes next to to major hospitals.

Ell said the provincial roads his company is responsible for were cleared and brined before the snowfall, so they won't be icy and the snow accumulation will be cleared quickly.

That will give drivers and commuters some relief before the next winter storm Bergeron said is forecast to arrive Saturday, this time from the Pacific. There's also a chance the snow turns to rain on Sunday.

"This could be a very exciting New Year's long weekend with snow then rain then snow again as a plausible scenario," he said.