The arctic chill is retreating which now means city crews duties will be switching from snow removal to flood patrol.
Maple Ridge roads superintendent Walter Oleschak said snow is still expected for Friday for Maple Ridge, while Environment Canada is calling for mixed rain and snow that day at the Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, with accumlations of up to four centimetres.
But today’s high is expected to hit 1 C while on Saturday, a temperature of 6 C is forecast, then 7 C on Sunday. Oleschak said the city’s expecting about 20 millimetres of rain each of those days.
Read more: Don’t wait for nature to clean your sidewalks
That could bring localized flooding as snow melt gets jammed up in plugged road catch basins. The city will have three crews on patrol over the weekend to keep the water draining. But residents can also help out by safely keeping the drains clear near their homes.
“Hopefully, this will be done soon,” said Oleschak.
Between 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Maple Ridge received 15 centimetres of snow. “We were doing all we could to keep the priority roads open,” he said.
But another major snowfall expected Wednesday night didn’t materialize.
Read more: Snow-rain-snow cycle disrupted Maple Ridge street response
pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
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