Snowfall isn’t set to stop anytime soon on two B.C. Interior highways.
Environment Canada has issued yellow-coded snowfall warnings for the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt and Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton for Thursday, Dec. 18. Yellow, the most common alert means “hazardous weather may cause damage, disruption, or health impacts.”
Beginning Thursday afternoon and going into Friday, the Coquihalla is expecting 30-40 cm of snow. Environment Canada said about 10-20 cm will fall on Thursday, it will stop briefly overnight and begin again on Friday, bringing another 10-20 cm.
This comes after the stretch of highway has already received 44 cm of snow over the last two days (Dec. 16 and 17). Additionally, Hope has received nearly 51 mm of rain in that time span.
“This snowfall accumulation will be highly variable due to the convective nature of the atmosphere,” said Environment Canada. “Total snowfall accumulations will be adjusted as Friday draws near.”
Highway 3 is set to expect 20 cm of snow starting late Thursday morning and into the night, tapering off to flurries around midnight.
This comes after 42 mm of rain has been recording on the highway at Nicolum Creek over the past two days.
A frontal system from the coast is causing the snowfall, added Environment Canada.
The government weather agency reminds motorists that travel will likely be challenging and weather in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions. Visibility will likely be reduced at times and road closures are possible due to the inclement weather.
While these are the only stretches of highway with snowfall warnings currently, other B.C. Interior highways have been hit with snow over the past two days:
- Coquihalla Highway (Merritt to Kamloops) – 18 cm, recorded at Helmer Lake;
- Okanagan Connector – 14 cm, recorded at Pennask Summit;
- Trans-Canada Highway (Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass) – 27 cm recorded at Albert Canyon, 17 cm recorded at Nordic 2.
On the other side of the thermometer, Osoyoos, Penticton, Summerland, and Salmon Arm all broke temperature records on Wednesday, Dec. 17.