IN TRAFFIC: Mountain highways in the Thompson Okanagan are slippery today

DriveBC says there are slippery sections on the Coquihalla Highway from 6 km south of the Great Bear Snowshed to 12 km north of the Coquihalla Summit and again from Larson Hill 29 km south of Merritt to 8 km north of Surrey Lake Summit, and a 40-60% chance of flurries.

There are slippery sections on the Okanagan Connector from the Merritt to West Kelowna.

Motorists are cautioned to watch for slippery sections on Highway 97 from Summerland to the Bennett Bridge across Okanagan Lake.

Highway 3 just west of Keremeos is closed in both directions following a rock slide. The highway will be closed until further notice. Light vehicles can detour around the closure on River Road. The highway is closed to heavy vehicles and will have to detour via Highway 5A or Highway 97C. Watch for flaggers on the road directing traffic. The next update from DriveBC is expected tomorrow at 9 a.m. following a geotechnical assessment.

Highway 97 will be closed in Summerland between Bridgeman Road and North Beach Road for blasting until 2 p.m. today. Watch for traffic control.

The B.C. Travellers Forecast says there's a 60% chance of snow flurries with the freezing level at 600 metres, rising to 900 metres this afternoon on the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt.

From Merritt to Kamloops there’s a 40% chance of flurries this morning with the freezing level rising to 900 metres this afternoon.

The Okanagan Connector and Highway 3 through Allison Pass have a 40% chance of flurries with the snow level rising to 900 metres this afternoon.

There’s a 70% chance of flurries on Highway 1 from Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass with the snow level rising to 800 metres this morning.

Environment Canada says Kamloopshas a 30% chance of showers this morning except flurries at higher elevations with a high of 5 Celsius and an overnight low of 0 C. Normal temperatures for this time of year are -1 C during the day and down to -8 C at night.

Kelowna and Vernon have a 70% chance of showers dropping to 30% this morning with wet snow at higher elevations. The snow level will rise to 900 metres this afternoon. The high temperature today is expected to reach 4 C and drop to 0 C tonight. Normally the daytime temperatures are -2 C and nights are -8 C.

Penticton is forecast to reach 6 C today and drop to freezing overnight with a 30% chance of showers and a snow level of 900 metres. Normal highs are -2 C with overnight lowers of -8 C.

Sun Peaks Ski Resort had 3 cm of new snow in the last 24 hours leaving the hill with an alpine base of 143 cm. It’s -4 C.

Silver Star Mountain Resort is 0 C, with 4 cm of new snow in the last 24 hours and an alpine base of 172 cm.

Big White Ski Resort had 4 cm of new snow in the last 24 hours, is -3 C and has an alpine base of 186 cm.

Apex Mountain Resort had 6 cm of new snow in the last 24 hours but has an alpine base of 172 cm and is -5 C.

— This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 16, with information on road closures on Highway 3 and Highway 97.

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