Snowfall warning for the Coquihalla Highway

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It may feel like spring in the valley, but with up to 30 centimetres of snow expected at higher elevations by tomorrow morning, it’s still very much winter at the highway mountain passes.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt and Highway 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass.

A strong Pacific cold front will sweep across the Southern Interior beginning late this afternoon, March 1, bringing lower temperatures and heavy snow to the high elevation passes. In total 20 to 30 cm of snow is expected at the Coquihalla Summit and Kootenay Pass by Wednesday morning.

Nearly 130 cm of snow is currently on the ground at the Coquihalla Summit while Kootenay Pass is recording more than 240 cm of snow on the ground.

In town, we can expect temperatures to reach a high of 7 to 9 Celsius along with showers across the region and strong wind gusts in some areas.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.