Light snow and freezing drizzle set to arrive in Metro Vancouver

An unplowed Vancouver residential street after snowfall. (Shutterstock)

A special weather statement is up for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, warning of light snow and freezing drizzle.

This next system is expected to arrive by Tuesday morning.

Special weather statement in effect for:

Metro Vancouver – central including the City of Vancouver Burnaby and New Westminster
Metro Vancouver – North Shore including West Vancouver and North Vancouver
Metro Vancouver – northeast including Coquitlam and Maple Ridge
Metro Vancouver – southeast including Surrey and Langley
Metro Vancouver – southwest including Richmond and Delta
Fraser Valley – west including Abbotsford

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the recent cold weather has primed the south coast for low-elevation snowfall. A low-pressure system will spin up over Vancouver Island, producing periods of light snow and a risk of freezing drizzle beginning early Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, we could see up to four centimetres of snow throughout the day.

By Tuesday afternoon, things should warm up, and those periods of light snow should change over to periods of light rain.

It will be a bit of a different story in parts of the eastern Fraser Valley. The weather agency says areas like Chilliwack and Hope could see up to 10 centimetres of snow on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Around Metro Vancouver, the snow caused major issues last week, with some people saying they were stuck on the roads for more than nine hours as a number of crashes and spun-out vehicles caused problems.

After that last snowfall, the province says it didn’t help that so many people left work early, which added to the havoc on the roads.

In the aftermath of the snowy hellscape that was Metro Vancouver during that significant snowfall, some city councillors from the region are suggesting that it needs a “snow summit” to better prepare for future disasters.