Crews will continue to clear streets today as the winter storm moves out of the region.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
January 06, 2015 - 7:34 AM
BACK TO SEASONAL NORMALS BY END OF DAY
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A winter storm warning is over for much of the Southern Interior, but it has left toppled trees, black ice and high avalanche risk in its wake.
A winter storm warning remains in place for the Shuswap and regions north and east of the Shuswap, including Highway 1 from Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass where another 10 to 15 centimetres of snow is expected by late afternoon. More than 25 cm of snow and 20 millimetres of rain has already fallen in the area in the past 24 hours. The storm is expected to create hazardous conditions through a mix of freezing rain and snow later today.
Highway 1 from Craigellachie to Revelstoke and through Glacier National Park is closed for avalanche control Tuesday morning. The highway west of Revelstoke is expected to reopen around 10 a.m. but delays of two to three hours are expected through Glacier National Park from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.
Ice build-up may cause tree branches to break as the system moves through, as they did along Highway 5 north of Hope forcing northbound lanes to be closed to traffic. Drive B.C. notes the highway could reopen between 8 a.m. and noon Tuesday.
Many other Interior highways are reporting a mix of compact snow with slippery sections, black ice, slushy sections, water pooling and even limited visibility with fog.
In town we can expect temperatures to be just above seasonal normals of -1 Celsius over the next few days, though Penticton will get as high as 5 C. Tuesday morning also brings at least a risk of rain or freezing rain to Kamloops, Vernon and Kelowna. Many schools in the region will remain closed for a second day because of the heavy snow that has fallen since Sunday. Much of the Thompson-Okanagan had already received more than 30 cm by Monday morning and the snow continued to fall throughout the day.
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