Image Credit: Submitted/DriveBC
December 19, 2022 - 7:00 AM
Most mountain highways can expect a relatively cloudy but snowless day today, Dec. 19, but snow is expected to start falling tonight and highways are still slippery
And it will be cold.
Heavy snowfall warnings have been issued for the Fraser Canyon, Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt and Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton and into the South Okanagan.
"A low pressure system will land in the Washington State tonight," the Environment Canada warning says. "The associated front will brush through the very southern part of British Columbia giving a round of snow overnight through late Tuesday afternoon. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow."
Snowfall accumulations are expected to be 10-15 cm except for the Hope-Princeton section of Highway 3 where up to 20 cm are expected. The snow will start tonight and continue through Tuesday.
The Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt shows a 30% chance of snow flurries today on Environment Canada’s highway forecast page.
Temperatures are expected to hold steady at – 17 Celsius today with snow starting near midnight. Five centimetres are forecast to fall overnight and another 10 to 15 cm tomorrow.
Watch for slippery sections from 6 km south of the Great Bear Snowshed to Kamloops, according to Drive B.C.
A mix of sun and clouds with highs of – 19 C are expected from Merritt to Kamloops with light snow starting after midnight, turning to heavy snow tomorrow.
The Okanagan Connector from Merritt to West Kelowna is likely to have gusty winds and temperatures of -17 C today. Snow is forecast to start after midnight with 2 cm by morning and up to 10 cm tomorrow.
For Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton there’s a 30% chance of flurries this morning with temperatures of -15 C. Snow is expected to start near midnight with accumulations of 10 to 15 cm.
Watch for slippery sections from 32 km west of Princeton to Keremeos.
Slope stabilization south of Summerland from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. will close the right-hand southbound lane daily through to Dec. 25.
Watch for slippery sections on Highway 1 from the Fraser Canyon through to Glacier National Park.
Highway 1 from Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass is expecting a 30% chance of flurries early this morning then clearing this afternoon with lows of -22 overnight tonight.
There is only a 60% chance of snow late tomorrow morning.
It’s a similar pattern in the valley bottoms: cold with a slim chance of snow until tomorrow.
Kamloops can expect a mix of sun and cloud today with highs of -20 C and a wind chill factor of -32 C this morning and -23 C this afternoon. There’s a 40% chance of snow flurries overnight.
Kelowna and Vernon are forecast to have a mix of sun and cloud today with a high of -16 C, dropping to -22 C this afternoon with a wind chill factor of -27 C.
Five to 10 cm of snow are expected tomorrow with an overnight low Tuesday night of -26 C.
Penticton will have a high of -12 C today but a wind chill factor of -25 C this morning and -20 this afternoon with a few clouds. Snow will start near midnight with accumulations of 5 cm overnight.
The very cold temperatures are forecast to moderate later this week but still remain well below freezing through Christmas.
On the slopes, Sun Peaks Ski Resort is showing a temperature of -29 C with only 1 cm of new snow in the last 48 hours, creating an alpine base of 91 cm.
Silver Star Mountain Resort had 2 cm of new snow overnight for an alpine base of 118 cm. It’s also -29 C.
Big White Ski Resort had 8 cm overnight for an alpine base of 105 cm and a temperature of -19 C.
Apex Mountain Resort had 2 cm of new snow overnight for an alpine base of 124 cm. It’s -26 C.
- This article was updated at 7:40 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 to add in snowfall warnings.
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