Brrr! Arctic front tracks across B.C. dropping temps, bringing snow

The arrival of cold arctic air to much of B.C. will cause temperatures to drop Thursday and Friday and bring early November snow to places like Whistler and the Coquihalla Highway.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement about the arctic front for multiple areas across the province, including Metro Vancouver.

It also issued snowfall warnings for multiple regions, including the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt, and Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton via Allison Pass. It says snowfall between 20 to 30 centimetres is expected.

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Snowfall could accumulate in the Fraser Valley and Howe Sound, it says, along with other parts of the province.

Whistler is expected to get up to 10 centimetres, while other interior highway passes could see up to 30 centimetres of snow.

Environment Canada also issued a wind warning for B.C.'s Central Coast. Gusts up to 90 km/h are forecast for Thursday morning.

Winter arriving early

Alyssa Charbonneau, a meterologist with Environment Canada, said that while these "arctic outbreaks" are common, this one has arrived particularly early.

"This is a little bit early for us. We normally would expect it a little bit later into November and December, so it does feel like a bit of a jumpstart to winter, especially compared to last week when it was unseasonably warm, so it's a pretty big shift from what we've been seeing," she said.

Charbonneau said these early winter conditions aren't likely to stick around — the potential for snow is likely to be over by Friday morning.

CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe says the arctic air will stay in place through the weekend with afternoon highs around Metro Vancouver only reaching five or six degrees.

Overnight lows will hover around zero degrees.

With files from Megan Batchelor