iN TRAFFIC: Snowy morning but no issues on Interior highways
Many Interior highways are covered in snow today but there are no major issues so far for Dec. 30.
DriveB.C. is reporting there is compact snow on Highway 1 from Spences Bridge to Kamloops, and slippery sections from Chase to Sicamous; Highway 3 has compact snow from Hedley to Keremeos; Highway 3A has slippery sections from Keremeos to Kaleden; Highway 5 has compact snow between Merritt and Barriere; Highway 97 has slippery sections from Osoyoos to Okanagan Falls and Summerland to Coldstream; Highway 97C has slippery sections between West Kelowna and Merritt; and Highway 97D has compact snow throughout.
Highway 1 will be closed east of Field for avalanche control from noon to 1:30 p.m. Pacific time (however Field is one hour ahead in the Mountain Time Zone).
Drivers are asked by the RCMP to be patient if they're driving between Kelowna and Lake Country via Highway 97. It was closed in both directions for several hours just north of the Kelowna International Airport due to a jackknifed semi.
Emergency crews are on scene and traffic is being rerouted, however it is currently not moving, the release says. “There is no estimated time of reopening.”
Charles Andrews commutes to Sicamous from Armstrong on Highway 97A and reported that driving conditions were good this morning.
“Bare and wet mostly,” Andrews said. “Lots of sand has been put down so top up on windshield washer fluid.”
Looking at weather, Kamloops will warm from -1 Celsius to 1 C over the course of the day. Vernon and Kelowna will get a high of 0 and low of -3 C. And Penticton will get a high of 3 C and low of 0. It is expected to snow throughout the region this morning.
At the ski hills, Big White Mountain Resort is reporting 7 centimetres of new snow and 50 cm over the past week. There has been 3 cm at Sun Peaks Ski Resort since yesterday and 40 cm over the past week; SilverStar Mountain Resort last got 5 cm on Dec. 28 and is expecting 2 cm today; and Apex Mountain Resort is reporting 7 cm of new snow and 44 cm over the past week.
—Story updated at 10:10 a.m. Dec. 30 with information about the planned closure on Highway 1.
—Story updated at 10:57 a.m. Dec. 30 with information about the jackknifed semi closure on Highway 97 in Lake Country.
—Story updated at 2:46 a.m. Dec. 30 with after Highway 97 reopened.
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