[twitter]A snow day in Vancouver doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, look out.

Snow in Vancouver is usually reserved to one or two days a year, but every 4 or 5 years a big dump happens.

This is a problem for a number of reasons. Since snow is very rare, few people have proper tires on their cars for the weather. Vancouver is also very hilly. It’s impossible to run North-South across the Lower Mainland without going over a number of ridges. So traffic is crazy, people freak out, and nothing goes right. That said, after the storm comes a beautiful calm.

Today, Vancouver received 13 cm of snow. In 2008, a 15 cm dump happened and we went for a walk at English Bay.

Snow is a pain the ass everywhere it falls, but it sure is pretty. All images by Buzz Bishop. No use without permission.