Strong winds, rapidly accumulating snow and poor visibility are all in the forecast for a handful of BC Interior highways to start the work week.
Four highway alerts were put in place Sunday morning for mountain passes in southern BC, including the Coquihalla, Okanagan Connector, Allison Pass and Kootenay Pass.
As of Sunday afternoon, winter storm warnings were in place on the Coquihalla from Hope to Merritt and on Hwy 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass
The reason for the alerts is due to strong south winds and snow arriving on Monday.
"A strong Pacific frontal system will begin pushing into the BC Interior Monday morning," reads an alert from Environment Canada.
"Snow, at times heavy, is expected to begin for these mountain passes Monday morning and begin to taper off after midnight, early Tuesday morning. Lower elevations will likely see a change to rain by Monday afternoon, but snowfall accumulations are expected to range from nearly 20 cm at the Coquihalla summit to nearly 35 cm at Kootenay Pass by Tuesday morning."
The heavy snow and high winds are expected to occur throughout Monday, with the strong winds continuing on Tuesday.
Environment Canada is warning drivers that “weather in the mountains can change suddenly, resulting in hazardous driving conditions,” and to keep an eye on the forecast.
"The combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds will result in severely reduced visibilities and blowing snow conditions," added Environment Canada.
Up-to-date road conditions can be found online at this link.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation.
