Surprise ... Snow makes for Snow Day for some, snow challenges for others

It was a Wednesday Snow surprise for Prince Rupert area residents this AM

An unexpected dump of snow made for some travel chaos this morning as Rupertites tried to make their way to work and appointments in the morning rush period, but not after some significant efforts to just get out of their driveways.

An overnight snowfall (which didn't provide for much of a heads up from Environment Canada) made for slick driving conditions and snowdrifts to deal with for the commute, that after a light snow which began in the early evening of Tuesday, kept falling through the overnight and into the morning.

The Weather forecasters  have not delivered the official final amount from overnight just yet. 

But from our recording at the NCR home office. 

More than 17 centimetres (just under 7 inches) of heavy, wet snow greeted motorists and pedestrians and also has brought some challenges for BC Hydro.

The BC Hydro Map just after 9AM today

Tne BC Hydro map one of a large swath of the city still to return to power, with parts of Port Edward, Metlakatla and Lax Kw'alaams also without power at the moment.

You can check the status, (if you have power, or by way of cel phone) through the BC Hydro website.

With the Power outage Prince Rupert area Schools were closed for the day and some businesses have had delayed openings.

The weather also had an impact on local Emergency Services, with the RCMP noting  earlier this morning of the loss of non-emergency lines at the detachment. A situation that has since been resolved.

City Crews have been working through the morning to take on the
volume of snow from overnight

City work crews were out in the pre rush hour period, however the volume of snow has seen much of the focus on the main thoroughfares in the early going, with side streets for the most part still to be attended to.

However, an advisory posted to the city's social media stream noted that some equipment breakdowns and the downed power lines have complicated their work this morning.

The early morning conditions did see many cars struggling to get out of snowdrifts and sliding on icy patches under the snowfall. Pedestrians are having a particular hard go of things, having to share the road with vehicles, so caution for those travelling the roads today is the main focus. 

The City of Prince Rupert issued an update on the situation shortly after 8AM noting of the may challenges at the moment.

Further updates from the City can be accessed here.

The snow however, should only be a temporary feature.

Should we dare to trust Environment Canada,  a mix of snow and rain is in the forecast for the day, then rain is approaching overnight. tomorrow and Friday, as well as through the weekend.

Weather updates are available from the Environment Canada website 

Something for homeowners to keep in mind, is to ensure that any storm drains near their homes are cleared to allow for the melting that is destined shortly.

We'll update the files should more notes come in through the morning.

A look at past weather events can be found from our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.