Flood warning issued for Metro Vancouver
Sunny Freeman, The Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007
METRO VANCOUVER - Officials issued a flood watch Sunday as a perfect storm of torrential rains, melting snow and heavy winds was forecast to wreak havoc on rivers, sewers and trees across the Lower Mainland until Tuesday.
A "pineapple express" system of subtropical air from Hawaii was projected to usher in warm moist air and heavy rainfall Sunday night, meaning that river levels are expected to rise and may exceed river banks, B.C. Minister of the Environment Barry Penner said Sunday.
Environment Canada on Sunday issued high-rainfall warnings for Greater Vancouver, Howe Sound and the western Fraser Valley. Rainfall levels were projected to reach 80 millimetres in Greater Vancouver between Sunday night and Tuesday morning, said John McIntyre, forecaster for Environment Canada.
A rapid rise in temperature, set to reach an unseasonable 12 degrees today, compounds the risk of flooding because precipitation sitting on the ground in the form of snow will turn into water, McIntyre said.
A low-pressure system combined with cold air from the Interior brought six centimetres of snow overnight Saturday in the Greater Vancouver region, said McIntyre.
Skiers and snowboarders in Whistler woke up to a 16 centimetre snow dump overnight Saturday, covering the mountain in a 110-centimetre snow base. Some communities on Vancouver Island saw as much as 40 centimetres of snow Sunday.
As heavy snowfall transformed the Lower Mainland into a Winter Wonderland Sunday, transit officials said they were excited to see the precipitation turn back to Vancouver's familiar rain late Sunday.
"I never thought I'd say this in Vancouver," said TransLink spokesman Drew Snider. "But, I'm looking forward to the rain."
Throughout the weekend, trolley buses had problems coping on routes with hills and higher elevations, getting stuck and stalling in the snow. The SkyTrain system experienced false alarms on the platform triggered by the heavy snow.
Police checked cars for snow tires on the Sea to Sky Highway, issuing fines and turning people back if their tires did not have the proper 3.5-millimetre tread, said Whistler RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Leeson.
On Saturday, the snow delayed departures at YVR by about 15 minutes. But there were no delays on Sunday departures due to winter conditions, said Diana Barkely, director of communications for Vancouver Airport Authority.
All runways were operational, but Barkely said there were delays on arriving flights due to stormy weather conditions in cities across the continent. Many regions across Canada are experiencing stormy winter weather, with major storm systems battering Ontario and the Maritimes as well as the West Coast.
Weather warnings were still in place Sunday night for much of B.C., Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, with snow and severe weather expected across the country.
sfreeman@png.canwest.com