Rain, snowfall warnings issued for southwestern B.C., Interior highways
Coquihalla to get up to 25 centimetres of snow; air quality advisory in place in Vanderhoof
Environment Canada has issued rain and snowfall warnings for parts of southwestern B.C. along with special weather statements for the southeast.
Heavy rain is expected Saturday night before tapering off Sunday across Metro Vancouver and the western Fraser Valley, including Abbotsford and Mission.
The weather office says the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt, which recently reopened to regular traffic after being damaged by severe flooding last November, could see up to 25 centimetres of snow by early Sunday morning.
Snow is also expected to begin Saturday night and intensify Sunday morning along the Sea to Sky corridor, bringing up to 25 centimetres to the Whistler area.
Weather pattern CHANGE coming to B.C. this weekend (Jan 29-30, 2022). Rain for Coast; snow for the mountains and Interior. ⛄<br><br>Stay tuned to your local forecast and warnings as we <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShiftIntoWinter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ShiftIntoWinter</a> again!<a href="https://t.co/KCz3c4bHX5">https://t.co/KCz3c4bHX5</a><a href="https://t.co/l8Rb9k1fCk">https://t.co/l8Rb9k1fCk</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCstorm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BCstorm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DriveBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DriveBC</a> <a href="https://t.co/otAmFD41IU">pic.twitter.com/otAmFD41IU</a>
—@ECCCWeatherBCEnvironment Canada says the snow will spread east to the Kootenay region on Sunday, bringing 15 to 30 centimetres before tapering off Monday morning.
An air quality advisory is also in effect for the community of Vanderhoof in B.C.'s central Interior, where the Environment Ministry says high concentrations of fine particulate matter are expected to persist until weather conditions change.