Climate warnings issued as ‘extreme bands of snow’ prediction for southern B.C.

Key takeaways: 

• Southern Interior could catch up to 15 cm; regions of Metro Vancouver could gain up to 10 cm by Tuesday morning.
• Kelowna was in the snow earlier week. The Okanagan Valley could witness up to 15 centimetres additional by Tuesday.

Snow warnings were issued as more rounds of snow hit BC: 

Snow should begin coming down this evening across the region’s southern Interior and, according to Environment Canada, it won’t be gently descending splinters.

The federal weather agency has given several notable climate reports for the province, alerting citizens there is potential for “intense bands of snow” to set Monday night that could get up to 15 centimetres by Tuesday morning. Source – cbc.ca

Impacted provinces include the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys, the Boundary, Nicola, Shuswap and North and South Thompson regions, Slocan Lake and 100 Mile House, the northern and southern Fraser Canyon, involving Lytton and Boston Bar and the eastern Fraser Valley including Hope. Source – cbc.ca

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The Elk Valley is anticipated to witness the most snow, with up to 20 centimetres predicted for the region, which includes the city of Fernie.

Drivers are being cautioned that temperature in the peaks can vary unexpectedly, resulting in dangerous driving situations.

Situations are predicted to be extremely dangerous on the Coquihalla Highway, where teams are operating to improve bridges and infrastructure impaired by landslides and flooding in November. Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton, which is presently open for important traffic only, Highway 97 between Clinton and 100 Mile House, and the Okanagan Connector (Highway 97C) have also been faded by Environment Canada as possible problem areas.