Heavy snowfall warning for Interior mountain passes

The first wintery blast of the season is expected on high elevation highways in the Southern Interior tonight and tomorrow.

Environment Canada has issued a heavy snowfall warning for the Coquihalla Highway from Merritt to Hope, the Okanagan Connector from Kelowna to Merritt and Highway 3 from Princeton to Hope via Allison Pass.

Forecasters are calling for 20 to 30 centimetres of snow on those highways tonight, Nov. 1, tomorrow and into Friday morning.

The heavy snowfall warning comes amid a special weather statement covering most of the Interior.

An arctic front is moving through the Interior and it will produce precipitation but no one's sure exactly what that will look like on the ground.

"For most communities in the Southwest Interior valleys, there is significant uncertainty with the precipitation type, whether rain or snow will fall," the weather statement says. "Kamloops, Salmon Arm, and the north Okanagan will see precipitation phase changes as the Arctic front moves across the region southwards.

As the storm develops, the statement could be upgraded to a watch or a warning. Keep an eye on the latest changes here.

For the latest highway conditions go to the Drive B.C. website here.

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