UPDATE: 55-60 cms of snow expected, Highway 1 closed

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Another 15 to 25 centimetres of snow is forecast for the North Thompson while area highways could see as much as 55-60 cm.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall advisory for the North Thompson Wednesday afternoon and advises people to keep an eye on weather conditions and forecasts. A similar advisory was lifted for the Shuswap region early this morning around the same time a special weather statement was issued for the Coquihalla Highway, Okanagan Connector and TransCanada Highway.

According to the weather agency, snow has developed over the Williston and McGregor regions Wednesday afternoon and will become heavier tonight before tapering off on Thursday. Tomorrow, the heavy snow is expected to develop over parts of the Columbias and Kootenays. Total snowfall amounts of up to 25 cm are forecast by Friday morning. Only a few centimetres had fallen in the region as of 6 a.m. and the advisory was extended into today.

"A cold front is forecast to move through the Central Interior today and the Southern Interior tonight. This front is expected to bring snow to portions of the Columbias and Kootenays with 10 to 25 cm possible before early Friday morning", according to the bulletin.

On the Coquihalla Highway 30-50 cm of snow is possible at the Coquihalla summit today with 15-25 cm of snow on other parts of the highway from Hope to Merritt and on the Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Kelowna. Eagle Pass to Rogers Pass on Highway 1 could also see significant snowfall as the cold front sweeps through. 

Drive B.C. is still warning of the possibility of freezing rain in addition to heavy snowfall on Highway 5 north from Kamloops to Vavenby and Highway 24 and around noon issued travel advisory warnings for all three highways, noting 55-60 cm of snow is expected to fall in the next 24 hours in from Kamloops south to Hope and west through Rogers Pass. Highway 1 has also been closed in both directions between Craigellachie to Revelstoke due to a high avalanche risk. A detour will be available and the highway is expected to reopen tomorrow at 10 a.m.

In town highs will remain just above 0 Celsius in the Okanagan and should reach 4 C in Kamloops. A mix of rain and snow is expected throughout the entire region.

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn

— Edited at 6 a.m. to remove alert for Shuswap region

— Edited at 7:25 a.m. to include highways

— Edited at 1:10 p.m. to include more information from Drive B.C.