(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

OKANAGAN - With a snowfall warning in place and cooler temperatures in the forecast, the Okanagan is in for a wintery start to the last week of November.

Yesterday, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the South and North Thompson, Shuswap and North Okanagan regions, saying snowfall would begin overnight and continue through today, Nov. 23. Up to 20 centimetres of snow is expected throughout the region, with the snow tapering off tomorrow morning.

A special weather statement has also been issued for area highways, including the Coquihalla Highway from Kamloops through to Hope, the Okanagan Connector and Highway 1 from Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass. Snowfall accumulations of up to 20 cm of snow are expected, with snowfall becoming heavy at times by tonight. Strong winds will also create limited visibility at times with blowing snow.

The weather office is calling for temperatures to remain steady at or just above 0 Celsius today, Nov. 20, through tomorrow, except in Vernon where the temperature is expected to drop to -2 C overnight. Temperatures are then expected to reach a high of -3 C or -4 C the rest of the week with overnight lows dropping to about -10 C Tuesday through Thursday nights. Seasonal normal temperatures at this time of year are a high of 2 C and a low of -2 C.

In Vernon, 10 to 15 cm of snow is expected by tomorrow morning and then another two to four centimetres is expected before it tapers off. Winds are expected to reach 20 kilometres per hour gusting to 50 km/h tomorrow and then the weather office is calling for rest of the week to be sunny.

In Kelowna there is a chance of snow this morning with about two centimetres expected this afternoon. Another five to 10 cm should fall overnight and then snow will end by about noon tomorrow. Winds are expected to gust up to 40 km/h tomorrow and then the sun will be out for the rest of the week.

Penticton weather is expected to be similar this week, with a chance of snow through early this afternoon and then seven centimetres expected before tomorrow morning. Winds gusting up to 60 km/h could bring local blowing snow tomorrow and then sunny skies are in the forecast for the rest of the week.

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