Heavy winds, rain on coast, heavy snow for highway passes in southern B.C.

Another round of wet, wintry weather is expected to roll through much of southern B.C. on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain to coastal areas and snow on the highway passes.

Rainfall warnings are in effect for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, with up to 70 millimetres of rain in the forecast for some areas of the Valley.

Mount Seymour in North Vancouver has been closed for the day due to the weather, while the City of Vancouver has opened extra overnight shelter spaces for Tuesday night.

Wind warnings in effect

Wind warnings are in effect for Metro Vancouver, including Burnaby, New Westminster, the North Shore, Richmond and Delta.

The wind is expected to die down by Wednesday morning, but gusts of up to 70 km/h are expected over the areas of Metro Vancouver adjacent to the Strait of Georgia.

"Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur," reads a warning from Environment Canada.

A wind warning is also in effect for Haida Gwaii, where gusts could reach 110 km/h.

In the West Kootenay, travel is not recommended on Highway 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass. Up to 60 centimetres of fresh snow could fall by Wednesday morning and Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning.

As for the other southern highway passes, Environment Canada is predicting a mix of rain and snow through Wednesday.

The Coquihalla Highway and Okanagan Connector could see up to 25 centimetres of snow mixed with rain by Wednesday. Rogers Pass could see nearly 35 centimetres by the time the weather system moves through. 

Snow levels can change significantly between locations, so exact timing and snowfall amounts will vary. Travellers are warned that conditions can change suddenly.