Heavy snow falls as a man jogs on a path in Central Park in Burnaby, BC, on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

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Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are in the grips of a blizzard that is churning out inches per hour.

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Get out your snow shovel, boots and gloves because Wednesday morning is going to be intense. Start your day with a roundup of BC-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7am, Monday to Friday. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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Environment Canada has a weather warning that remains in effect predicting “significant” snowfall that began early Tuesday afternoon and was not expected to stop until Wednesday morning. Weather forecaster Tyler Hamilton says Wednesday morning will be “absolute chaos.” Check back for more weather updates. Scroll down to the bottom of the story for tips on coping with snow and cold weather.

The Alex Fraser Bridge was closed in both directions due to multiple vehicle incidents on Tuesday afternoon, mainly in the northbound lanes. The left and right northbound lanes have reopened, however the southbound lanes remain closed. This bridge connects Richmond and New Westminster to the North Delta.

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Traffic along Highway 1 between Vancouver and Surrey was also heavily backed up. Drive BC also issued broad travel advisories for highways across the south coast and beyond on Tuesday.

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Drivers were warned to expect wintry conditions on the Trans-Canada from West Vancouver to Hope, the Coquihalla between Hope and Merritt and highways 17 and 99 from ferries through the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. The warnings will be in place until at least Thursday across much of the region. At Metro, there are a lot of TransLink issues, with no buses running to UBC. At 9 p.m. there were about a dozen 99 B-Line and other buses on Broadway between Burrard and Granville Street. Footage in the tweet below showed a TransLink Handi-Dart bus hitting a line of cars involved in an earlier collision.

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Follow TransLink on Twitter for the latest rider tips.

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The power outages begin

The heavy and wet snow also comes with strong winds and this leads to power outages. By 10:30 p.m. there were more than 36,000 homes without power. This includes 20,678 in the north of Vancouver Island and 6,983 in the south of Vancouver Island. A regional alert has been issued for Vancouver Island due to several (105) outages. Due to ship cancellations, crews are unable to reach Hornby Island, Denman Island and Quadra Island. The hardest hit areas are Nanaimo (7,700), Ladysmith (4,900) and Courtney (3,900).

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There are 8,477 homes without power in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast. Crews are experiencing delays in accessing problem areas due to poor road conditions and ship cancellations. As a result, some customers will be without power overnight. There are also reports of downed power lines. Call 9-1-1 and stay at least 10 meters away from a downed power line if you encounter one.

Will it snow tomorrow?

With any heavy snowfall in Metro Vancouver, there is always the possibility that schools will be closed. We will monitor districts Wednesday morning and update this list with any closed public schools and post-secondary schools. School districts will only make an announcement if they cancel, not if schools remain open.

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BC Ferries, YVR flights cancelled

Dozens of flights from Vancouver Airport and all major BC Ferries routes were canceled Tuesday as snow began to fall in the Lower Mainland. BC Ferries has canceled all sailings from 3 p.m. on Tuesday between the mainland and Vancouver Island, including those between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay in Victoria, Tsawwassen and Duke Point near Nanaimo, and Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay in Nanaimo. BC Ferries expects to resume normal service Wednesday morning. YVR’s departures list showed nearly three dozen canceled flights for Air Canada, Westjet and other airlines as snow began to pile up Tuesday afternoon. Several other Vancouver-bound flights were also canceled. Keep an eye on the YVR website and check with your airline if you were scheduled to fly tonight or tomorrow.

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Tuesday night was a mixed bag at YVR, with some planes departing late or canceled and some on time. At 21:00 an alert was issued that an aircraft had overshot the runway with 271 passengers and crew on board, but no one was injured.

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UBC will decide whether to open Wednesday at 6:30 a.m

Simon Fraser University closed its Mt Burnaby campus due to worsening weather conditions at 5:30pm on Tuesday. The Vancouver and Surrey campuses remained open Tuesday night. The University of BC said while snow is falling there as well, campus operations remain normal. UBC said it will update Wednesday’s plan by 6:30 a.m Langara College, BCIT and Vancouver Community College said Tuesday that those campuses remain open. SFU and the colleges will make a decision early Wednesday and notify students. Heavy snow falls on a path in Central Park in Burnaby on Tuesday. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

How much snow will we get?

Weather forecaster Tyler Hamilton says up to 20cm of snow would fall over the Lower Mainland over a 12-hour period.

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North Vancouver, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge are expected to see the heaviest snowfall, with up to 20 centimeters predicted by Environment Canada, while Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford could see snow between 10 and 15 cm. The North Shore mountains could see up to 50cm of snow. Whistler is also expected to get a huge dump. Areas south of the Fraser River – such as Delta and White Rock – will be spared the brunt of the impact and will likely see around 10cm of snow.

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Vancouver Weather Forecast: Snow, rain, wind … more snow?

The snow is expected to reduce to rain or flurries Wednesday morning for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley east to Abbotsford. For areas further east, however, the snow is expected to taper off Wednesday afternoon. Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing on Wednesday, resulting in a large snowfall that is likely to lead to power outages. Temperatures will drop again on Thursday, with few showers or thunderstorms. Hamilton is forecasting another snow event on Friday, which could also be significant. “It’s not one and done,” Hamilton said. “We’ll probably see some snow this week.”

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Winter weather tips and tricks

Watch: Snow Shovel Safety Tips

Before you put on those winter woolens and grab that snow shovel, check out this video for tips on how to safely clear your driveway. We apologize, but this video failed to load.

5 tips to keep you upright when walking on ice

  1. Walk like a penguin when the path is icy: Turn your feet out and relax your knees. Keeping your hands away from your sides for balance, walk slowly and flat-footed, taking short steps.
  2. Put Kitty Litter in your pockets or a zip-top bag: If you’re faced with icy walks, icy steps or slippery slopes, sprinkle the litter to improve traction. Sand works too. Avoid commercial de-icers, which should be used with gloves.
  3. Get off the ski poles: It’s a good way to add stability when…