Winter storm warning for Coquihalla Highway

If you have plans to drive from the southern Interior to the Lower Mainland in the near future, you may want to reconsider.

Up to 30 centimetres of snow is expected to fall on the Coquihalla Highway from Merritt to Hope and Merritt starting tomorrow, Dec. 15, creating hazardous winter driving conditions.

Environment Canada issued a winter storm warning that says a Pacific frontal system will bring snow and gusty winds starting during the day that will likely continue into Tuesday night.

By early Wednesday morning, between 20 to 30 cm of snow is expected at the Coquihalla Summit.

“Weather in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions,” the warning states. “Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.”

For the latest on the winter storm warning, go to Environment Canada's website here.

For the latest road conditions check Drive BC's website here.


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Rob Munro

Rob Munro has a long history in journalism after starting an underground newspaper in Whitehorse called the Yukon Howl in 1980. He spent five years at the 100 Mile Free Press, starting in the darkroom, moving on to sports and news reporting before becoming the advertising manager. He came to Kelowna in 1989 as a reporter for the Kelowna Daily Courier, and spent the 1990s mostly covering city hall. For most of the past 20 years he worked full time for the union representing newspaper workers throughout B.C. He’s returned to his true love of being a reporter with a special focus on civic politics