White or green Christmas? Weather shapes up for yuletide holiday
'Mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions,' warns Environment Canada
A green Christmas was predicted for Victoria and Vancouver, but much of British Columbia is already seeing snow for the holidays — and today Environment Canada reported a forecast shift that may cover Metro Vancouver in white.
Higher elevations on Vancouver Island — and even parts of Victoria — are already seeing light flurries.
As temperatures drop over the next week, spots that get a dump snow will probably see it stick around until Dec. 25.
Much of the B.C. Interior is expecting heavy snow over the next few days as the weather turns more wintry province-wide. And now Metro Vancouver residents can expect 10 to 15 centimetres of the festive white stuff.
Rain is turning to snow in higher elevations in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, and is expected to transform into snow over many parts of the mainland and South Coast, according to Environment Canada.
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—@donny__lawWhile rain is predicted at sea level in some coastal spots there will be 10 to 15 centimetres of snowfall at higher spots on Vancouver Island on the Malahat, in parts of Duncan, Nanaimo, Nanoose and Fanny Bay and near Lake Cowichan.
At higher elevations there could be as much as 15 centimetres of snow in these areas.
White Rock, South East Surrey and Langley may get up to 10 centimetres by this evening, with higher elevations of Metro Vancouver seeing up to 4 centimetres.
An Arctic Front is forecast for the remainder of the week bringing temperatures as low as –3 C to –10 C overnight.
More snow for B.C. Interior
In the interior of the province, especially around Boundary, West Kootenay and Elk Valley, snow is expected to be heavy by late morning today, tapering off over Wednesday.
Up to 25 centimetres of snow is expected from Highway 3 to Grand Forks.
Even greater accumulations, from 20 to 45 centimetres are expected in Trail, Castlegar, the Kootenay Pass, Elk Valley, Fernie, Elko ,Sparwood and Nicola and the Central Okanagan and Kelowna.
Environment Canada urges people to avoid travel until conditions improve and watch for road closures.
There's a special storm warning for drivers on the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt and Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton via Allison Pass, where up to 40 centimetres of snow is expected.
At the peak of this storm up to five centimetres of snowfall per hour is possible, according to Environment Canada.
