Snowstorm wallops Sea to Sky Highway, brings traffic to crawl (PHOTOS)
Traffic was brought to a complete standstill along the Sea to Sky Highway for much of Sunday when a severe snowstorm hit the corridor.
Dangerous conditions were experienced throughout the day and there have been reports of vehicles sliding off pavement and unable to climb icy road surfaces. The situation was particularly serious between Squamish and Whistler.
At this time, the road to Whistler is still treacherous: the B.C. Ministry of Transportation has advised the public to delay or make alternate plans until road conditions improve.
This was the B.C. South Coast’s first winter storm of 2015, although the Metro Vancouver region was spared the worst of it. There was heavy rain at times and only a trace of snow was seen in the eastern areas of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
Environment Canada has stated that an additional 30 to 40 mm of rain can be expected by Monday morning. Between 10 to 20 mm of rain will also fall throughout the day.
While the storm brought havoc to the mountain roads, it was a blessing for the snow-starved North Shore Mountains of Metro Vancouver. Here is the 24 hour snow accumulation for all three ski hills:
- Cypress Mountain: 30 cms
- Grouse Mountain: 34 cms
- Seymour Mountain: 42 cms
Over the last 24 hours, Whistler Blackcomb recorded about 26 cms of new powder.
10 cars slid off Rd/pple pushing cars uphill 5kms N. of Squamish. Noway through w/out snowtires! @globalbc #seatosky pic.twitter.com/X9kjRN3hMC
— Megan Willams (@MeganDubs) January 5, 2015
Heading South from Whistler before Cat Lake. Chaos. #seatoskyhighway #seatosky #squamish Six cars can’t get up hill pic.twitter.com/53pQtLriHG — Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownHomes) January 5, 2015
Stuck between Whistler & Squamish on the #seatosky #bcstorm am I going to get back to Vancouver tonight? pic.twitter.com/ypaTuLYK8G
— Alex Chiang (@AlexChiang_TD) January 5, 2015
Mayhem on parts of the sea to sky btw Vancouver and Squamish. @GlobalBC pic.twitter.com/aEMcq3sk0O — Jeremy Hunka (@JeremyHunka) January 4, 2015
People are reporting ‘chaos’ on jammed #seatosky highway. @CKNW #whistler Photo courtesy: @SarahMarymorden pic.twitter.com/zq9torElq6
— Allison Tanner (@AllisonM_Tanner) January 5, 2015
Car in the ditch on the Sea-to-Sky just outside of West Van. Be careful. #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/pJJ68itAFa — Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) January 4, 2015
Looks like solid ice on the road. Super difficult and very slow driving on the Sea-to-Sky right now. #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/TfS5zrizsj
— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) January 4, 2015
Pulled off the road for a second to take a look at the huge line of traffic moving slowly towards the city. #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/PEmxuqMDVa — Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) January 4, 2015
Drive safe on the sea to sky today! #snowday #weekend #seatosky #squamish #whistler
A photo posted by anna (@westvanna) on
Winter wonderland…..look Monse….SNOW!!!! #squamish #jackthejeep #winter #lazysunday A photo posted by Adrienn Barsony Czegeny (@barsonyhugi) on
#seatoskyhighway is more snow today. #explorebc
A photo posted by Craig Carey (@craigcarey) on
Downtown Squamish and the snow is piling up fast. #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/VPQhBLkkSO — Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) January 4, 2015
Downtown #Squamish pic.twitter.com/XgGFhmjfYO — Jennifer Thuncher (@Thuncher) January 4, 2015
People trying trying to leave the bar #htwd #travel #squamish #canada A photo posted by Josh Harris (@how_the_world_drinks) on
Feature Image: Chris Brown via Twitter
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