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Schools open Thursday, but more snow in the forecast

Greater Victoria, Saanich and Sooke school districts are open today after three days of closures, but Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Greater Victoria and the Malahat. At 5 a.m.
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A wintry stroll in Beacon Hill Park on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019.

Greater Victoria, Saanich and Sooke school districts are open today after three days of closures, but Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Greater Victoria and the Malahat.

At 5 a.m. today, Environment Canada upgraded a special weather statement to a snowfall warning for Victoria and the Malahat. The weather agency said to expect five to 10 centimetres this afternoon, switching to rain overnight or Friday morning. Depending on the location, another dump of snow is possible overnight into Friday morning.

“There is potential for snow to be fairly heavy during the late afternoon and early-evening rush hour,” according to Environment Canada. “Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations.”

Flurries are already on the way with the “heavier stuff coming this afternoon,” Environment Canada meteorologist Carmen Hartt said around 10 a.m.

Overnight could see rain, a mix of rain and snow or just snow depending on the region and elevation, Hartt said.

Temperatures are expected to hover around 0 C. “That’s the tricky part,” Hartt said. In Greater Victoria, it’s expected there will be more melting on Friday than freezing, she said.

From the north side of the Malahat portion of the Trans-Canada Highway to Campbell River the forecast is the same but residents there are more likely to see snow than rain overnight and into Friday, Hartt said.

Saturday appears “unsettled” with wet flurries. Sun and warmer temperatures of 3 C are forecast for Sunday. These temperatures remain well below the average 9 C for this time of the year.

Daily record snowfalls in Greater Victoria were set for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday based on accumulations recorded at the Victoria International Airport weather station.

And the record for a February snowfall in Greater Victoria — 39.6 centimetres set in 2014 — has also been broken, Hartt said. The average snowfall for February is 6.3 cm but so far this month 60.3 cm has already fallen at the airport weather station, which has records back to 1941. However, 117.9 cm was recorded at the Gonzales weather station in Victoria in 1916.

A B.C. Highways alert was issued this morning for the Malahat portion of the Trans-Canada Highway, and east Vancouver Island between Courtenay and Campbell River, between Duncan and Nanaimo and between Nanoose Bay and Fanny Bay.

In Greater Victoria, the only school bus not running is No. 12 from Port Refrew, but delays were possible on other routes.

Saanich School District superintendent Dave Eberwein said this morning the district worked hard getting buildings ready and shovelling and sanding to prepare for today’s opening. All school bus routes were checked last night, he said.

“We’re very excited to be open again,” said Eberwein. “We’re looking for as regular a day as we can with all this snow still lying around. We obviously don’t like to close but needed to.”

Greater Victoria School District superintendent Shelley Green said she, too, is excited to see students back in school today.

“It’s been a long time with this unusual snow scenario, so we’re so happy to invite our kids back in and our staff for a wonderful day today,” Green said.

“They are very concerned about some of our side roads for sure,” said Green. “They won’t do alternate routes for sure, so especially for some of our buses that pick up special-needs kids. If they can’t get door-to-door, they’ll be contacting those parents directly to let them know they are unable to get there. But they are going to do their best to get to every door and pick our kids up.”

Many students were concerned about missing Valentine’s Day.

“They are going to be pretty excited about that, and there’s snow they can play in outside and build snowmen. I think it’s going to be an awesome day,” Green said.

All three school districts have a professional development day on Friday, and Monday is Family Day, so students will have another long stretch of school days off.

As of 8:30 a.m. B.C. Transit route No. 43 to Royal Roads via Belmont Park was the only route not running. HandyDart, for passengers with physical and cognitive disabilities, remains on essential service levels.

“To know that after all that weather that we can get back to regular routing is kind of amazing. It’s a testament to our drivers and municipalities that have stepped up to ensure roads are clear to get customers to where they need to be,” spokeswoman Shellene McConnell said.

In the West Shore, Alex Meikle and a friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, cleared bus stops of snow banks created by plows. The pair were given three-month bus passes by B.C. Transit as a show of appreciation.

ceharnett@timescolonist.com