B.C. airports and BC Ferries report cancellations, delays due to snow

Snow and poor road conditions are impacting travel in British Columbia Thursday.

Several BC Ferries routes, including morning sailings from Vancouver to Victoria, were cancelled due to the weather.

In many cases, BC Ferries workers were unable to reach the ships because of snow, leading to the cancellations.

Even more sailings are delayed due to snow and staffing issues, according to the company.

Meanwhile, airports across the province are reporting delays or cancellations Thursday.

Nearly 30 centimetres of snow was reported at the Victoria International Airport, and airports are encouraging travellers to check with their airlines for updates on the statuses of their flights.

Environment Canada is maintaining winter storm, snowfall and extreme cold warnings for much of the province and says snow could switch to prolonged bouts of freezing rain over the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island.

The weather agency also expects as much as 50 millimetres of rain over the inner south coast through Friday before snow has a chance to melt, saying that could create pooling water and slippery conditions on many routes.

Elsewhere, extreme cold warnings still cover much of northern and southeastern B.C., with wind chill making conditions feel as cold as -50 C in northeastern parts of the province. Although forecasters say temperatures there should climb by Monday.

With files from The Canadian Press.