Vancouver Island has seen a fair share of snow this winter, but the Cowichan Valley has been hit especially hard by the white stuff.
Lake Cowichan residents woke up to another blast of winter Monday morning with 14 centimetres of fresh snow falling overnight.
“This is the worst type of conditions, when it gets real mucky like this, sloppy, and then freezes,” said Lake Cowichan Fire Chief Doug Knott. “There’ll be a lot of black ice.”
It was another major dump for a rural community that has seen more snow in just over a week than it does on average for the entire month of January.
In the month of December alone, Lake Cowichan had nine snow days compared to the monthly average of two.
Experts say snowfall levels like this haven’t been seen in the area in eight years.
“We’ve had a few through the winter here. People have been pretty aware up here,” said Knott. “It’s more noticeable, this snow has lasted quite a bit this year. Most times it’s gone within a week.”
Fortunately, fire crews say other than a few incidents, they haven’t responded to any serious accidents this year.
With freezing rain falling in the afternoon, there are also concerns an Arctic front moving in could turn Monday’s precipitation into ice as temperatures are forecast to dip to -6 degrees Tuesday night.
The good news is it could be the final cold snap of the season.
The forecast is calling for the return of seasonal temperatures to begin next week.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Jessica Lepp
