(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)
December 24, 2015 - 9:46 AM
KAMLOOPS - You’re in luck if you dreamed of a white Christmas, but along with the perfect winter scene are temperatures forecast to be quite a bit below seasonal normals.
Enough snow has fallen this month to give much of Kamloops a white Christmas, something that has only a 45 per cent chance of happening in recent years, according to Environment Canada.
Mother Nature is planning a bit more snow for the city this morning as well, before a mix of sun and cloud takes over. The clouds will clear Christmas Day before returning Sunday through early next week.
The weather office is calling for temperatures to be right on par with seasonal normals today, Dec. 24, with a high of -1 Celsius and a low of -7 C in the forecast, but then the temperature will stay steady at -7 C during the day Friday, leaving Christmas Day to be quite a bit cooler. Temperatures are expected to dip to -11 C Christmas night before going back up to -6 C Saturday. The mercury will rise slightly Sunday and Monday, with a high of -3 C in the forecast.
If you are hitting the highways the typical winter conditions are in force, with Drive B.C. reporting compact snow, slippery sections and slushy sections on highways throughout the region.
More than 10 cm of snow fell overnight at the Coquihalla Summit, with periods of snow expected to end this afternoon, while periods of snow will end at the Pennask Summit this morning, with a chance of snow persisting this afternoon. There is also a chance of snow at Helmer Lake on the Coquihalla Highway north of Merritt and flurries are expected along Highway 1 from Rogers Pass to Eagle Pass today as well.
A vehicle incident near the Alberta-B.C. border this morning has reduced traffic to single lane alternating traffic with delays of less than an hour expected.
If some backcountry playtime is in the cards for the Christmas weekend, expect low to moderate risk of avalanche in much of the Interior, according to Avalanche Canada.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015