Break out the Mittens, Tuques, Long Johns and Galoshes Martha! ... Looks Like We're In For One Hell Of A Canadian Winter!

  Vancouverites battle cold temperatures along Hornby Street Wednesday morning.

METRO VANCOUVER - Downtown Vancouver is awash with the white stuff as an Arctic front continues to bring freezing temperatures and snow today to Metro Vancouver and parts of British Columbia's south coast.
In an update this morning, meteorologist Mark Madryga said the western part of the Fraser Valley will receive about 5 cm of snow and is being hit with northeast winds up to 60 km/h that could make it feel as cold as -24 C outside.
Const. Ian MacDonald of the Abbotsford police department cautioned drivers to avoid Vye Road and Highway 11. At 8:45 a.m. he tweeted those routes had bumper-to-bumper traffic and challenging conditions.
Metro Vancouver is -6 C in parts right now and might see up to 2 cm of snow beginning early this morning and ending this afternoon Madryga said.

Read More Here ... Vancouver Sun: Frigid Arctic air, snow hit Metro Vancouver, B.C. south coast

Uploaded by VanceSova on Jan 18, 2012

http://www.vancesova.com Watch the first snow in Vancouver in 2012. The snow white delight in city streets and parks looks good and is welcome by some but not everyone. A lot of Vancouverites prefer the white stuff in the mountains. Mostly for practical reasons they prefer the rain in the city. Sometimes they don't like it in town because then they can't brag to other Canadians about how mild their winter weather is in comparison.

The fact is that it does snow in Vancouver. The average snowfall as measured at the Vancouver International Airport area in Richmond BC is around 30 centimeters or one foot per year. And Richmond is practically at sea level.

At the higher lying areas of Vancouver City and the other municipalities of Metro Vancouver the snowfall can be significantly greater.

Luckily the snow doesn't cover the city streets for very long and usually melts within a week or less after it falls down.

Slip Sliding Away

Winter delivers its first blow Snowy conditions forecast to last through the week 

Vancouver Sun
SLICK COMMUTE: Winter's grip drops a blanket of snow that made streets in downtown Vancouver slippery Monday morning. More Images » SLICK COMMUTE: Winter's grip drops a blanket of snow that made streets in downtown Vancouver slippery Monday morning. Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, PNG, Vancouver Sun A blast of winter weather in Vancouver on Monday was just a taste of what is still to come. Metro Vancouver experienced sun, rain, ice, snow and everything in between over the last few days, with more snow and colder temperatures expected to persist throughout the week. The snowfall in downtown Vancouver on Monday morning was "just a little puff," according to Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones. He expected another five to 10 centimetres of snow to fall on Metro Vancouver overnight, with 15 to 20 cm of fresh snow for the Fraser Valley by this morning. Another big dump of snow could come Wednesday, riding a storm front from Washington state that prompted the National Weather Service in Seattle to announce a winter storm warning for several parts of the state today.
Read more:

The Lower Mainland gets a blast of winter

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Snow fell overnight all over the Lower Mainland 

CKNW (AM980)

1/13/2012

Forecasters called for up to 5 centimetres in Vancouver and up to 10 on higher terrain.
Driving was treacherous in many areas, including the Walnut Grove area of Langley.
CKNW sports reporter Lynden Mcbeth was in the area early Saturday morning, near 96th Avenue, just south of the Fraser River.
"Cars were sliding all over the road, the hill going up at 200th and 72nd, cars were not able to make it up, only the big 4 by 4s were, there's about 15 centimetres of snow on the ground now, and the trees have so much on them, it's starting to fall off."
Shelters all over Metro Vancouver have been preparing for more visitors.
Vancouver issued a cold-weather warning Friday, which means extra shelter spaces will open up.
In Metro Vancouver, James Pratt, who co-ordinates the region's extreme-weather response, says 250 spaces are open with 400 more standing by.
"those spaces will be expanded if needed. The ones in Surrey have a couple of sites open."
Staff at the Union Gospel Mission on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside are asking for donations to help keep people warm.
A snowfall warning remains in effect for Metro Vancouver.
A mixture of snow and rain is expected to fall over lower elevations, while snow will fall over higher elevations and the Eastern Fraser Valley.
Keep it tuned to CKNW and CKNW.com for all the latest updates over the weekend.