While the City of Victoria sailed through the weekend’s cold snap with minimal problems, downed power lines, freezing rain and snow made for travel and hydro problems elsewhere in the Capital Region.
Hundreds of homes in and around the Malahat were without power Monday after nearly 30 centimetres of snow caused trees and branches to sever power lines.
Between 25 and 30 centimetres of snow fell at higher elevations and on several Gulf Islands late Sunday and early Monday morning, said John McIntyre, a forecaster with Environment Canada.
“We’re not going to crawl up to seasonal highs until the end of the work week,” McIntyre said. “It’s a bit strange that southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland are the only areas in B.C. with weather right now. It’s sunny blue skies everywhere else.”
Victoria International Airport also ran out of de-icing fluid Monday, causing travel delays before it could secure further supply Tuesday.
Daytime highs hit 1 C in Victoria on Monday, much cooler than typical mid-February temperatures of 9 C.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
