Saturday, December 15, 2012

Early morning snow and slush causes traffic troubles

The changing weather system over the North Coast on Saturday morning provided for treacherous driving conditions for an hour or so, as snow turned to sleet and then rain through the mid-morning period.

The snow which fell around the 9 AM portion of the day, created some traffic troubles on Highway 16 in particular, with reports of accidents on the highway, one which reportedly required the temporary closure of the road while emergency personnel worked on the scene between the Ridley Island Road turn off to the Port Edward turn off.

No details have been released on the nature of the motor vehicle incident, or of any injuries that may have resulted from it.

While the snow came to an end almost as quickly as it started, what was left was a slushy mixture that made road conditions slick within the city and on the Highway east to Terrace.

Caution will be the word for travelers through the day today, both on the highway and on city streets.

Environment Canada is calling for much of the same kind of weather pattern through the next few days, with temperatures in the 0 - +3 range, the precipitation could be rain, snow or sleet with any given shift of the wind.

Further Weather information can be found at their website.

Drive BC advised of those conditions in the mid morning period:

Heavy Snowfall from BC Ferries Terminal in Prince Rupert to 56.6 km east of Prince Rupert (63 km). Updated Sat Dec 15 at 10:25 am PDT. (ID# 141250)

Further updates can be found from the Drive BC website.

Update: The RCMP released further information on the Saturday morning accident on the Highway, advising that the incident which took place near the Oliver Lake area, resulted in a tragic loss of life, as a passenger in a eastbound car passed away from injuries suffered in the crash.

CFTK-- Prince Rupert Highway Crash claims life
Northern View-- Accident claims life between Prince Rupert and Port Edward

No comments:

Post a Comment