FORT ST. JOHN -- Residents of Fort St. John woke up to another round of snow and slick road conditions this morning, with the record snowfall seen this month far from over.
"You're getting up there to upwards of 70 centimetres so far, which is certainly not nothing," Armel Castellan with Environment and Climate Change Canada told CJDC-TV.
October and November have seen nearly half of the snowfall amounts typically accumulated during an entire winter season.
"We're at about 175 per cent of normal for the month of November, so certainly it's a strong month," said Castellan, who confirmed the city even broke records on November 23rd when 12 centimetres of accumulation fell.
The heavy snowfall has led the city to fast-track snow removal solutions, after apologizing to residents in a November 15th Facebook post.
"We didn't necessarily set them up for success around some of our training and scheduling pieces, but we've been able to make some of those changes, explained Ryan Harvey, Communications Manager with the City of Fort St. John. "They're out there working as hard as they can, and as fast and safely as they can, to get roads open."
City staff are ‘predominantly’ used to clear roads, however, policy allows contractors to be called in should snowfall levels exceed 15 centimetres within a 72-hour period.
"We have multiple contractors in, they’re working between 20 and 22 hours between a couple shifts," said Harvey.
Crews remain out maintaining over 350 lane kilometres of roads while also working to clear sidewalks, bus routes, and collector streets.
The wintry conditions are set to intensify, with Environment Canada predicting colder than normal temperatures continuing into March.
"We are right now currently on La Niña watch, which means that the equatorial Pacific is a little bit cooler than normal, and it has not yet reached that 0.5 degree negative anomaly," said Castellan.
A snowfall warning remains in effect through the Pine Pass this weekend, with another round of heavy snow expected Saturday before tapering off on Monday.
"We do have a -21 Sunday high and then a plus five Monday high, so there is certainly a swing in the coming days, too, to be warned about," added Castellan.
The city is encouraging residents to help by parking off the streets, moving objects such as basketball nets, and avoid putting driveway snow onto the road.
Staying safe while out shovelling also being reminded, after a 2017 study by The Canadian Medical Association found a correlation between heavy snowfall and the risk of heart attacks.
Residents can stay safe by taking breaks, drinking enough water, and knowing when they had enough to avoid the risk of injury.
