Fraser Valley gets a rare February snow day

The Fraser Valley got an unusually large dump of snow over the weekend, leaving crews busy clearing roads, sidewalks and driveways.

At the Abbotsford airport, 57 centimetres of snow has fallen since Friday, according to Environment Canada. On Sunday, 20 centimettres fell, smashing the Feb. 5 record of 11.9 centimetres, which which was set in 1949.

All Chilliwack and Abbotsford schools were closed on Monday, and the Chilliwack School District has already said the closures will last through Tuesday as well.

For children, the fresh snowfall meant ideal sledding conditions, and at the slopes around Rotary Stadium in Abbotsford,families were making the most of the winter weather.

Elmer Giesbrecht took the day off work to enjoy some sledding with his family.

"I used to love snow when I was a kid," said Giesbrecht. "It's nice.Igot the day off work.My wife took the day off work.The kids got the day off school, so we're just trying to enjoy it as best as we can, right?"

"It's crazy.It's so unusual to have this," he said of the February snowfall."It's nice to ... spend some more time with the kids outside. And the kids love it, so it's all good."

Dan Loan was spending part of his day getting his apartment complex's parking lot cleared.

"I'm a retired guy, just helping out," Loan said.

"This is a really good little machine it took 14 inches of snow off this parking lot this morning," hesaid of the snow blower, which has barely been used since it was bought eight years ago.

Loan said the snow was too wet and heavy for the machine to clear on Sunday, but cooler temperatures have helped make the snow easier to move.

Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said the main roads in the area have been pretty well cleared. But he pointed out that many of the side streets may still be under more than 30 centimetres of snowand hard to get around on.

He said one incident early Monday morning nearly became a close call, with scary whiteout conditions just after midnight that stranded about 20 people in eight vehicles.

MacDonald said police, firefighters and a snow plough all responded, but it was neighbours who sprang into action when they were most needed.

"If it weren't for farmers and others down in that area bringing smaller equipment and shovels, we wouldn't have been able to make sure 20 people were extricated from their respective vehicles and kept warm through the night, he said.

A furtherfive to 10 centimetres of snow is expected in the area overnight Monday, and another blast of winter weather is forecast for Wednesday night before temperatures begin torise.

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