Not only was Friday’s weather extremely cold, but several all-time low-temperature records were set at locations around the Island.
At Victoria International Airport, the 1963 record of -9.4 C fell to Friday’s -10.7 C, while the weather station at Gonzales recorded the coldest temperature there in 55 years at -11.5 C.
The low on the Malahat was -13.4 C, down from a record of -8.4 C in 2007.
Estevan Point on the Island’s west coast beat 1909’s -6.1 record with -6.7 C, and Nanaimo’s low of -10.3 C tied a record set in 1998.
The wind chill in Greater Victoria — northeast 40 km/h winds were gusting to 60 km/h — made temperatures feel closer to -21 C.
Friday’s daytime high was forecast at -7 C Friday in Victoria, and colder-than-normal weather is expected through Saturday around the Island.
Highs could rise above freezing by early next week.
Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa Erven said snow is likely now out of the picture on the Island, with Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo and Port Alberni expected to have sun and cold temperatures through the weekend.
Erven said the Malahat had two centimetres of snow by Friday morning, North Cowichan had 10 cm and Nanaimo had nine cm.
“Now that the arctic front’s passed through, we’re just basically into a frigid, dry air mass,” she said.
Snow could again be a possibility early next week, Erven said.
Despite snow accumulating in some areas, schools on south Vancouver Island opened as usual Friday, although there were some bus cancellations and detours in the Sooke School District.
The Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo-Ladysmith school districts saw some delays with their buses.
Emcon Services, the highway-maintenance contractor for the south Island, said it didn’t encounter any major issues Friday.
“Everything is looking pretty good on the highway,” operations manager Andrew Gaetz said Friday morning. “It’s pretty much bared off. There’s a few slippery sections.”
B.C. Transit said most of its buses in the Victoria Regional Transit System were running on their usual routes Friday.
Icy roads in parts of Langford and Sooke led to some partial detours Friday on routes in the West Shore “to avoid areas with sharp inclines or challenging sections,” said spokesperson Jamie Weiss.
In the Cowichan Valley, BC Transit’s adverse weather routing was activated.
Check BC Transit’s alerts page for up-to-date information.
BC Hydro reported that more than 1,000 customers were without power on Gabriola Island Friday morning, but the Island-wide total was down to about 480 a few hours later.
