Environment Canada has issued rain and snowfall warnings for much of southern British Columbia, from Metro Vancouver to the eastern boundary with Alberta.
Heavy rain was expected Saturday night across Metro Vancouver and the western Fraser Valley, including Abbotsford and Mission, before easing Sunday evening.
The weather office says the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt, which recently reopened to regular traffic after being damaged by severe flooding last November, could see up to 25 centimetres of snow by Sunday evening.
Snow was also expected to intensify overnight before tapering off later Sunday along the Sea-to-Sky corridor, bringing 20 to 30 centimetres to the Whistler area.
Environment Canada says the snow will spread east to the Kootenay and Elk Valley areas Sunday, dumping 15 to 20 centimetres before easing by Monday morning.
It says parts of Highway 1 in the Columbia-Shuswap region east of Revelstoke could also see 25 to 35 centimetres of snow from Saturday through to Monday.
An air quality advisory was also in effect for the community of Vanderhoof in B.C.'s central Interior, where the Environment Ministry says high concentrations of fine particulate matter are expected to persist until weather conditions change.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2022.
The Canadian Press
