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Snow-filled storm system turns B.C.’s Interior into white wonderland   

Click to play video: 'BC weather forecast, Saturday December 29, 2018'
BC weather forecast, Saturday December 29, 2018
A look at B.C.'s weather forecast for Saturday, December 29th, 2018 – Dec 29, 2018

It’s a winter wonderland in B.C.’s Interior, which makes for great skiing, but lousy driving.

On Friday, a Pacific storm system that barreled across the northern half of the province brought snow, and plenty of it, with the amounts varying per region, from 15 centimetres in the North Coast and Bulkley Valley to 30 cm in the Columbia regions.

A view of Highway 97 at Begbie Summit, south of 100 Mile House, on Saturday morning. DriveBC

The southern half of B.C. wasn’t spared either, with the Okanagan, for example, also getting snow, between 5 and 10 cm.

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Road conditions along the snowshed section of the Coquihalla Highway on Saturday morning. Snow is projected today for higher elevations of the highway. DriveBC

DriveBC has scores of road condition alerts on its website, with many warning of compact snow or slushy with slippery sections. An extreme example would be a Highway 20 alert in the Chilcotin, west of Williams Lake, where freezing rain is coating the road.

DriveBC says travel is not recommended between Anahim Lake Road and Pyper Lake Road (a distance of 133 kilometres) unless absolutely necessary.

Road conditions in Prince George on Saturday morning. DriveBC
For mountain passes, more snow is expected Saturday. The Coquihalla, between Merritt and Kamloops, is projected to get 2-4 cm, while the Okanagan Connector and Highway 3 [Hope to Princeton] should receive 5 cm., though 10-15 cm is forecast for Paulson Summit.
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Along the Trans-Canada Highway, 20 cm is forecast for Eagle Pass, while Pine Pass along Highway 97 should receive 10 cm.

To view the latest road conditions on DriveBC, click here.

To view the latest Environment Canada weather alerts, click here.

Road conditions in Revelstoke on Saturday morning. DriveBC

Ski-wise, several resorts are reporting plenty of fresh powder. Big White near Kelowna tweeted out that 21 cm has fallen in the past 24 hours, while Sun Peaks near Kamloops has 19 cm of new snow in the past 24 hours.

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Further north, Hudson Bay Mountain near Smithers is reporting 31 cm over the past 24 hours and Powder King, approximately two hours north of Prince George, has 20 cm of new snow.

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