Winter storms, freezing rain and extreme cold forecast as weather warnings blanket B.C.

Snow, freezing rain and possible flooding have been forecast for B.C. just as some regions start to emerge from the extreme cold front of the past week. 

Winter storm and snowfall warnings from Environment Canada were in effect Friday morning for much of the lower two–thirds of B.C., with snow accumulations of five to 20 centimetres or more expected.

Freezing rain warnings have also been issued for Victoria, the southern Gulf Islands and the Malahat Highway on Vancouver Island, while extreme cold warnings remained in place for northern and southeastern B.C.

Ice accumulations of up to five millimetres around Victoria and the southern Gulf Islands, and as much as 25 millimetres in the Fraser Valley will be followed by heavy rains across the south coast, raising the potential for flooding as snow and ice clog storm drains, according to meteorologists.

The treacherous weather conditions come after Thursday's cold blast broke more than three dozen daily records for low temperatures across B.C.

Environment Canada's weather summary for Thursday shows temperatures below –40 C in parts of the province, with some areas seeing lows more than eight degrees below previous records.

The full list of preliminary record lows for Thursday includes:

Abbotsford area

New record: –13.4 C

Old record: –11.7 C, set in 1970

Agassiz area

New record: –13.6 C

Old record: –13.5 C, set in 1990

Blue River area

New record: –39.8 C

Old record: –35.8 C, set in 1983

Burns Lake area

New record of –35.7 C

Old record: –34.9 C, set in 1983

Cache Creek area

New record: –30.0 C

Old record: –26.5 C, set in 1983

Clearwater area

New record: –34.5 C

Old record: –27.8 C, set in 1924

Clinton area

New record: –35.8 C

Old record: –27.0 C, set in 1983

Cranbrook area

New record: –34.0 C

Old record: –30.4 C, set in 1990

Dawson Creek area

New record: –41.8 C

Old record: –38.9 C, set in 1933

Fort Nelson area

New record: –43.6 C

Old record: –39.5 C, set in 1984

Hope area

New record: –17.2 C

Old record: –13.4 C, set in 1983

Kamloops area

New record: –30.2 C

Old record: –25.6 C, set in 1891

Kelowna area

New record: –29.0 C

Old record: –25.2 C, set in 1983

Lillooet area

New record: –26.7 C

Old record: –22.2 C, set in 1924

Lytton area

New record: –24.8 C

Old record: –20.6 C, set in 1983

Mackenzie area

New record: –38.8 C

Old record: –29.6 C, set in 1983

Malahat area

New record: –12.7 C

Old record: –8.5 C, set in 1990

Nakusp area

New record: –20.0 C

Old record: –19.5 C, set in 1983

Nelson area

New record: –20.3 C

Old record: –17.2 C, set in 1921

Osoyoos area

New record: –21.8 C

Old record: –17.5 C, set in 1983

Penticton area

New record: –22.3 C

Old record: –15.8 C, set in 1983

Pitt Meadows area

New record: –12.4 C

Old record: –12.2 C, set in 1879

Port Alberni area

New record: –13.6 C

Old record: –13.5 C, set in 1983

Prince George area

New record: –39.9 C

Old record: –38.9 C, set in 1924

Princeton area

New record: –38.6 C

Old record: –35.3 C, set in 1983

Puntzi Mountain area

New record: –41.3 C

Old record: –32.4 C, set in 2008

Quesnel area

New record: –38.6 C

Old record: –31.1 C, set in 1921

Revelstoke area

New record: –26.6 C

Old record: –23.3 C, set in 1909

Salmon Arm area

New record: –30.2 C

Old record: –26.5 C, set in 1983

Sechelt area

New record: –11.2 C

Old record: –8.0 C, set in 1983

Squamish area

New record: –11.7 C

Old record: –11.0 C, set in 1990

Summerland area

New record: –23.0 C

Old record: –18.5 C, set in 1983

Tatlayoko Lake area

New record: –30.9 C

Old record: –27.8 C, set in 1964

Trail area

New record: –25.7 C

Old record: –24.0 C, set in 1983

Vancouver area

New record: –13.5 C

Old record: –11.5 C, set in 1983

Victoria area

New record: –8.4 C

Old record: –8.3 C, set in 1998

Victoria Harbour area

New record: –9.5 C

Old record: –7.8 C, set in 1983

Whistler area

New record: –21.4 C

Old record: –20.0 C, set in 1951

White Rock area

New record: –11.7 C

Old record: –9.6 C, set in 1998

Williams Lake area

New record: –36.0 C

Old record: –33.3 C, set in 1983

Yoho National Park area

New record: –39.6 C

Old record: –36.0 C, set in 1990