VANCOUVER – Fall is still more than a week away but drivers on the Coquihalla Highway can be forgiven for thinking winter is arriving.
Environment Canada has issued special weather statements, forecasting about two centimetres of snow on upper elevations of the route and at the summit of Highway 97, between Clinton and 100 Mile House in the central Interior.
The weather office says a cold front is crossing parts of the Interior, dropping the freezing level at higher elevations.
If you end up driving the Coquihalla and find yourself dealing with snow, the company that maintains the highway is recommending you slow down.
Bob Gilowski with VSA Highway Maintenance says a change in weather can happen very quickly, adding if you can’t see or feel uncomfortable, you should pull over until the storm passes.
“We do have plough trucks that are ready 365 days of the year. Although we’re not on winter shift at this point, we will respond to the weather conditions, should snow actually start to fall.”
Gilowski adds snow can fall on any summit in our province at any time of the year.
Many south-central B.C. communities started the day with a skiff of snow after residents in the northeast saw back-to-back snowfalls on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Snowfall warnings remain in effect along the Alberta/B.C. boundary, with Environment Canada advising that as much as 15 centimetres will add to accumulations already blanketing Jasper and Banff national parks.
Conditions in the two parks are not expected to ease until late in the day and the weather office warns drivers to be prepared for quickly changing and deteriorating conditions on higher elevations of highways around B.C.
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