Snow Day in Vancouver

Trees covered in snow made for a beautiful sight today

We were warned ahead of time there would be a big snowstorm starting at midnight on Wednesday and the weather forecast was correct. Late in the evening Vancouver started to get a dusting of snow that continued for hours and hours... 

This morning we woke up to the white stuff -- a lot of it. 

Vancouver got a record 28cm today

Schools, including post-secondary ones closed for the day, much to the thrill of students. Today was the start of Dine Out Vancouver, where restaurants offer set meals at discounted prices. But the terrible road conditions caused some restaurants to close for the day, while some shops and museums closed early.

Around 9am I went out to start shovelling the snow off the sidewalks around our house and there was over 20cm accumulated already. It was tough going because the snow was already so thick and still coming down fast. 

Today we got a total of 28cm, a record for January 17, smashing the 1962 record of 13.5cm!

After I managed to clear both sidewalks and walkways to our home, I was dismayed to find there was already a light layer of snow covering the area I had just shovelled earlier.

So about an hour later I went out again, and after lunch, and one more time in the late afternoon with the shovel. By that time it was much easier to clear the walkways, but it had to be done to prevent it from accumulating too much.

By late afternoon the snow stopped falling for a bit and I tried to go out for a walk. Some neighbours did shovel the snow, doing an even better job than me, while others completely neglected this chore and it was difficult to walk at times. 

A smiling Henry Moore-like snow sculpture

Nearby is a park and it was nice to see young children having fun tobogganing down the slope, or making snowmen. One of them looked like a Henry Moore statue. It was quite a sight to see snow on the tree branches creating a beautiful scene.

The park is next to a main road and it was mostly cleared of snow, though the dirt from the cars had already turned the snow on the street into an ugly brown slush.

And tomorrow's weather will not be pretty -- tonight the temperature drops below zero, causing everything to freeze into ice, and then in the early evening on Thursday there will be freezing rain at 1 degree Celsius.

Already some post-secondary schools have cancelled classes again tomorrow. Better safe than sorry.