Early November snow a boon for B.C. ski resorts

It’s beginning to look a lot like ski season.

An atmospheric river that hit B.C.’s coast on Thursday, and then barreled inland, dumped snow across large swaths of the province.

While it made for terrible driving conditions along mountain highways, ski hills and resorts were celebrating the early wintry weather.

In the Okanagan, Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna has had approximately 45 cm of new snow since Thursday evening. Apex Mountain Resort near Penticton is reporting 38 cm of fresh snow, while Baldy Mountain Resort near Oliver and Osoyoos has 30 cm of new snow.

No information was available from SilverStar Mountain Resort.

2:00 First snowfall of the season catches many Okanagan residents off guard

Elsewhere, Revelstoke Mountain Resort has nine centimetres of new snow, while in the Kootenays, Fernie Alpine Resort reported the same on Friday. Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden reported 28 cm of new snow on Saturday.

On the South Coast, Grouse Mountain has 36 cm of new snow, Cypress Mountain has 26 cm over the past 24 hours, while Whistler and Blackcomb reported 19 cm over the past 48 hours. No information was available from Mt. Seymour.

2:32 B.C. evening weather forecast: Nov. 4

And more snow is in the immediate forecast for the South Coast.

Environment Canada says an incoming weather system will bring rain to the area, with the freezing level at approximately 300 metres.

“Snow levels will drop overnight into Sunday morning as the airmass cools and precipitation intensifies,” said the national weather agency.

“Locations near sea level may start to see wet snow, but any accumulation will likely be at locations above 100 metres in elevation. Near five cm of accumulation is possible in those locations, with up to 10 cm over the highest locations.”