WATCH: Some tourists on Vancouver Island may be shocked by the weather they found Thursday. It seems winter has unofficially arrived as snow blanketed parts of the Island. Ceilidh Millar has a look at how some communities are responding to the first significant snowfall of the season.

Snow has arrived in parts of Vancouver Island.

As of Thursday morning, light snow was falling in Courtenay. Snow was also seen in Bowser, Comox, Nanaimo and many other communities in the eastern part of Vancouver Island.

WATCH: Snow falls in Courtenay on Thursday morning. 

Greater Victoria, East Vancouver Island and Inland Vancouver Island are all under a special weather statement. On East Vancouver Island, Courtenay to Campbell River, Duncan to Nanaimo and Nanoose Bay to Fanny Bay fall under the special weather statement.

According to Environment Canada, modified arctic air making its way toward the South Coast will result in gusty outflow winds developing over inland areas.

“Locally, we could see between two to four centimetres of wet snow accumulate during the day today,” explained meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau from Environment and Climate Change Canada. “Tonight, we might get another two centimeters of snow.”

Charbonneau says these type of weather conditions have arrived early this year.

“Normally we see these type of arctic outbreaks at the end of November into the start of December,” Charbonneau said. “This is a little bit early.”

Snow now starting to stick in @cityofnanaimo @CHEK_News pic.twitter.com/x1nAHuTCzM

— Skye Ryan (@SkyeRyanCHEK) November 2, 2017

The weather agency said the precipitation will initially start off as rain and snow levels will gradually fall through the day. Cooler air will settle over the higher terrain of the Lower Mainland this afternoon.

Snowfall amounts may vary depending on the precipitation rate and how quickly the airmass cools. Environment Canada said Whistler is expected to see 10 to 15 centimetres through Thursday night with up to five centimetres possible over parts of the Fraser Valley and Howe Sound.

The higher terrain areas of Vancouver Island and the Lower Island may see several centimeters by Thursday night. Wet flurries are expected near the Malahat late Thursday evening and overnight.
Three centimetres of snow is in the forecast near the Malahat for Thursday night and there is a 40 per cent of wet flurries expected near the Malahat early Friday morning.

Victoria’s Emergency Weather Protocol was activated today as temperatures dropped by several degrees.

Nearly 400 shelter spaces have been made available across Victoria and Saanich.

“We go into the community and determine what resources we have,” said Jen Wilde with the Greater Victoria Extreme Weather Response Program. “We allocate extra space to make sure we can accommodate as many people as we can get in.”

Winter comes to #Vanisle on #BCHwy4 Alberni Highway. This highwaycam pic is about 2 km west of #Coombs. Drive safely. #shiftintowinter pic.twitter.com/vC2GkwfLyd

— BC Transportation (@TranBC) November 2, 2017

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4600 block of 19a north of Dashwood #BCSnow #BCstorm @CBContheisland @CHEK_News @CTVNewsVI pic.twitter.com/j6EgLJayVg

— Nick Acciavatti (@Dashwood6) November 2, 2017

Throughout early Friday morning, mixed precipitation is possible even at sea level with little accumulation as the airmass begins to dry out. However, it will remain cool for the weekend.

WATCH: Light snow in Bowser on Nov. 2. Credit: Megan Petrie

 

You can send your snow photos and videos to [email protected].

 

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