British Columbia

Winter arrives in B.C.'s southern Interior

Some B.C. residents woke up to cold temperatures, wet snow and strong wind gusts Thursday morning.

Snowfall warnings in effect for South Thompson, Coquihalla

Snow started falling at 8 p.m. PT on Wednesday and it was still falling by noon on Thursday, say residents. (Adam Broomfield)

Winter weather arrived Thursday morning in the southern interior. Snowfall warnings are in effect for the South Thompson and Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.

Alyssa Charbonneau, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the combination of Arctic air that's arrived in southern B.C. and the moist air coming off the Pacific Ocean has created a heavy, wet snow in parts of the interior.

Highway passes will see 20 to 30 centimetres of snow today and tonight, but precipitation will taper off near midnight tonight, according to Charbonneau.

Riverside Park in Kamloops was blanketed with wet snow early Thursday morning. (Courtney Dickson/CBC)

"The cold air is just moving into place," Charbonneau told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops, adding that cold temperatures are expected to stick around after the snow end, persisting through the weekend and beginning of next week.

Environment Canada does not expect the Cariboo to see much snow, if any, but cold temperatures and windy conditions are predicted.