Snow and slush expected in Southern Interior mountain passes through Tuesday

Watch for slippery conditions in all mountain passes between the Lower Mainland and Southern Interior starting this morning, June 19.

“A trough of low pressure is affecting southwestern B.C., resulting in precipitation and lowering snow levels,” says an Environment Canada special weather statement issued at 5:33 a.m. today. “The snow level has lowered to approximately 1,500 metres and low snow levels will persist until Tuesday morning.”

That means the chance of wet snow or a mix of snow and rain over most mountain passes will create slippery conditions.

The Okanagan Connector from Merritt to West Kelowna will be hit the hardest.

“Starting later this morning, precipitation will become more steady and continue through Tuesday morning,” the statement says. “The Okanagan Connector is likely to experience wet snow, potentially leading to snow or slush accumulation of up to 5 cm on the road surface and up to 10 cm of snow on the shoulder.”

In Kamloops, five to 10 mm of rain are expected today and the same again overnight with showers continuing into Wednesday. The high temperature for today is only expected to be 12 Celsius, climbing to 15 C tomorrow and 23 C by Wednesday.

In Vernon and Kelowna, there’s a 40-60% chance of showers today with five to 10 mm of rain expected tomorrow. Highs today are forecast at 15 C, dropping to 12 C tomorrow before climbing back to 21 C on Wednesday.

Penticton is expected to be warmer, reaching 19 C today and 14 C tomorrow with less rain in the forecast.

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