Fraser Valley – 30 cms on the ground is some places (18 inches in Downtown Chiliwack) and another 10 cms to come on Sunday before a week long deep freeze with overnight lows expected to hover around Minus 10. (Unofficially 48 cms over the five days of snow, so far).
The long range forecast suggests very cold temperatures through to Mid-January.
There are protocols for snow removal:
For Chilliwack, that info is here.
From the City of Chilliwack website:
Over 30 cm of snow fell overnight. Another 10 cm is forecast for today. Many roads have deep snow and drifts. The public is advised to avoid driving and only go out if absolutely necessary. There are many abandoned cars around the area causing problems for traffic. Crews are working 24 hrs and are concentrating on priority routes only at this time. Property owners are reminded to please clear sidewalks in front of their property.
Information Links:
- Road cameras: http://www.chilliwack.com/cameras
- Weather updates: http://www.chilliwack.com/weather
- Road Priorities: http://www.chilliwack.com/snowpriority
- Priority Routes Map: http://maps.chilliwack.com/
From the City of Abbotsford website:
The City of Abbotsford maintains and manages approximately 910 km of paved roadways. Severe weather conditions can seriously impact the City from a social, environmental and economic perspective with an unsafe road network. In order to provide an effective and efficient response that aligns with Council’s strategic vision, a Council Policy was developed in which the roads have been classified into three priorities:
- First Priority Roadways: includes approximately 350 kilometers of all high volume and strategic arterial and collector roads which includes transit routes, school zones and major access to hillside areas.
- Second Priority Roadways: includes approximately 170 kilometers of the remaining arterial, hillside and collector routes.
- Third Priority Roadways: includes the remaining approximately 390 kilometers of roadways, usually local roadways, not identified as first and second priority.
First priority roads are maintained until conditions are under control and safe, subject to worker and equipment availability and weather. Once these roads are cleared, resources are redirected to second priority routes and then to third priority routes.
View the Snow Clearing Map for priority routes details.
