Early spring snowfall continues on B.C. interior highway mountain passes as Environment Canada extends its special weather statement in the southern interior.
According to the national weather service, 11 centimetres of snow fell on the Coquihalla summit overnight, five centimetres accumulated on Okanagan Connector near the Pennask Summit, and eight centimetres fell on Highway 3 at Kootenay Pass.
Flurries are forecast to continue Sunday on high-elevation mountain passes.
“An upper trough will persist over B.C. today resulting in an unstable atmosphere,” said the weather statement updated on Sunday morning.
“Convective flurries will continue through tonight and may produce local amounts of 5 to 10 cm over Coquihalla Summit, Allison Pass, Paulson Summit and Kootenay Pass.”
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Environment Canada meteorologist Trevor Smith says the Coquihalla Summit and Kootenay Pass will be hardest hit.
“The Hope to Merritt section we are probably looking at another 2 to 4 centimetres possible for today and 2 to 4 centimetres for tonight. A little bit more over the Kootenay Pass, probably just a trace today but it’s this evening where it looks like another band of precipitation will move through there,” Smith said.
The weather service says conditions in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions.
Smith says the special weather statement could be rescinded Sunday night.
“We will probably keep it going for the rest of today though I think,” he said.
Highway 97C is one of many in the southern Interior and northern B.C., where snow tires are mandatory until April 30, one month longer than regulations covering most other highways.
For more about B.C. weather alerts, click here.
For the latest in road conditions, visit DriveBC.
WATCH: (Aired October 2018) Chaos on the Coquihalla: heavier than expected snowfall shuts down major B.C. highway for hours
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