Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Winter arrives in parts of British Columbia

While Prince Rupert residents keep an eye on the harbour and its display of white caps and enjoy a sunny but brisk and windy day along the north coast, other parts of the province are facing slightly more challenging weather situations.

A winter storm coming ashore on Tuesday night and continuing on into Wednesday is making for transportation and power supply headaches in many parts of the province.

Highway conditions from Terrace eastbound are proving to be troublesome for motorists today, with particular attention paid to the area east of Smithers as gusting winds and cold conditions make for blowing snow and slippery roads all the way past Prince George today.

Snow estimates of up to 15 cm have been called for the Bulkley Valley Lakes  to  Prince George area today, with winds whipping  the snow and occasionally causing power disruptions to communities in the region affected.


Road conditions were described as treacherous in the morning period and one school in the Prince George area cancelled classes due to the weather difficulties.

The winter storm has been more of a wind event for areas from  Northern Vancouver Island south, resulting some power disruptions and in a number of ferry cancellations between Vancouver Island and Vancouver trough the day.

As the system continues to work its way east, windy but clear  and colder conditions will prevail on the North coast. Temperatures will hover around the 1 or 2 degree mark over the next few days, while lows will drop to minus eight by next Monday. There is a slight chance of flurries towards the end of the weekend and into next week.

Road conditions for those heading east can be updated regularly by viewing the Drive BC website. Any weather related changes to the BC Ferries sailings can be reviewed from their website as well.

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