Time to get out the snow shovels in Kamloops, Okanagan

Heavy snow in the mountains tonight, Nov. 3, will translate into two to four centimetres of snow in Kamloops and the Okanagan.

That will be followed with rain and snow through much of the coming week with temperatures dropping to as low as -9 overnight early next week.

A weather warning was issued yesterday for the Coquihalla from Hope to Merritt and the Okanagan Connector with 15 to 20 cm of snow expected starting this afternoon. That warning was extended this morning to Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton and later in the day to the Trans-Canada Highway from Rogers Pass to Eagle Pass.

The Environment Canada online forecast is for increasing cloudiness in Kamloops with snow beginning this afternoon and a high of only 1 Celsius.

That is expected to turn to rain on Friday as the high temperature could reach 7 C. Saturday should be relatively warm as well with a high of 5 C but the thermometer will drop Sunday and into next week, bringing more snow.

For the Okanagan, there is a 40% chance of rain showers this afternoon turning to wet snow this evening before returning to rainfall again on Friday.

Highs today are expected to be around 5 C, rising to 7 C Friday before falling to freezing on Sunday with more snow forecast.

The entire region is expected to get 2 to 4 cm of snow overnight, with more at higher elevations.

Temperatures had dropped to -8 C by 7 a.m. today in Kamloops and Kelowna. Wind chills were as low as -12 C in Kamloops, -10 C in the Okanagan.

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