Drivers should be ready for winter weather in much of the Interior today

Highway alerts and snowfall warnings are in effect for Kamloops and the Okanagan today.

Snowfall warnings have been issued on the Coquihalla from Hope to Merritt, on the TransCan from Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass, and on Highway 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass, according to Environment Canada.

A snowfall warning is in effect from now until tonight for the North Okanagan including Vernon, the North Thompson, and the Shuswap region.

Ten to 15 centimetres is expected to accumulate and visibility will be low in heavy snow.

“An intense frontal system will move across the B.C. interior today. Light snow will intensify this morning and persist through today, tapering to light flurries tonight,” according to Environment Canada.

On the highways, DriveB.C. reported a few issues overnight.

On Highway 1, traffic is down to single lane alternating due to a vehicle incident between Squilax Turtle Valley Road and Des Fosses Road, east of Chase. Also on the TransCan, drivers are advised to watch for slippery sections for 50 kilometres between Blue Lake Road and Colvin Road. Slushy sections were reported between Perry River Bridge and Victoria Road West for a span of 42 km.

On the Coquihalla, there may be slippery sections between the Portia and exit and Coldwater Road exit, a stretch of 50 km. And between Inks Lake Road and West Kamloops, Coquihalla will be down to single-lane alternating in both directions for a vehicle recovery, beginning at 9 a.m.

On Highway 97A slippery sections and compact snow were reported for 56 km between the start of Highway 97A and Davidson Drive.

And on Highway 12, slippery sections are present from the start of Highway 12 to Kirbys Flat Road for 28.2 km.

Charles Andrews commutes from Armstrong to Sicamous every morning. Today, Nov. 22, he said it was mostly bare and wet so far.

“It didn’t start snowing until just past the sawmill in Enderby,” he reported at 6:10 a.m.

“From Grindrod to Mara Foodliner seemed to be getting the most heavy snow and so there was some accumulation on the road happening. From the Mara food liner to Sicamous it is still snowing but nothing is accumulating on the road and so it remains bare and wet.”

For weather, Kamloops and Kelowna will both see a high of 0 and low of -4 Celsius, with periods of snow in the morning and a some flurries tonight.

Vernon can expect a high of 0 and low of -3 C with snow in the forecast.

Penticton is expected to get a high of 0 and low of -2 C, with periods of snow this morning and a few flurries tonight.

For anybody planning on heading up to the ski hill today, there has been no new snow at Big White Ski Resort over the past 24 hours and only 3 cm over the past week, according to the daily snow report, however 4 to 8 cms of snow may fall there today. There has been no new snow at Sun Peaks Resort in the past week, however 6 to 12 cms are expected today. 

— This story updated at 8:40 a.m. Nov. 22, 2022, to add information about a vehicle recovery on the Coquihalla.

— This story updated at 11:40 a.m. Nov. 22, 2022, to add information about a vehicle incident on Highway 1 east of Chase.

— This story updated at 2:55 p.m. Nov. 22, 2022, with a new photo.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.