While the public can’t access images from the webcam installed on Highway 101 at Trout Lake in 2023, local road maintenance contractor Capilano Highways started receiving useful weather details from the site on Nov. 23. That’s according to a Jan. 10 email from Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure officials, who indicated “technical difficulties” were being experienced with visuals from that location. They said those should be available on the DriveBC website “within the next three weeks."
Area spokesperson for Capilano Tyler Lambert confirmed that details such as driving surface and air temperatures from the station are being sent to them from the site. He said there were some delays in bringing the information in as configuring a new account and remote data reception was “a learning curve“ for Capilano’s local staff.
“We have access now, ahead of this upcoming cold snap. It should be a great tool to help us out as we start to see winter weather,” he stated.
Environment Canada’s website contains a statement that the “first significant arctic blast of the season,” is anticipated to reach the Coast on the evening of Jan. 11. Snow and sub-zero daytime high temperatures are in the forecast from Jan. 11 to 15, along with overnight low level mercury dips to -9 C.
Capilano requested the weather station be put in, as the location has the highest elevation on Highway 101 and is subject to more volatile winter weather and driving conditions.
