Heavy snowfall in the forecast for eastern and central B.C., Environment Canada warns

Snow and slush are seen on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Salmon Arm, B.C., in a highway camera image captured on Dec. 6, 2022.

VANCOUVER -

Environment Canada is warning of heavy snowfall for eastern and central B.C. on Tuesday, a day after some regions on the coast broke cold temperature records.

Snowfall warnings of up to 10 centimetres have been posted for the Okanagan including Vernon and north around Prince George, while regions further east could see up to 20 centimetres of snow.

The weather agency says an arctic front moving across eastern British Columbia is responsible for much of the chill.

It warns drivers to prepare for changing conditions that could make navigating the roads difficult and cause sudden losses of visibility.

A mix of light snow, rain and freezing rain is in the forecast for parts Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and eastern Vancouver Island.

On Monday, Environment Canada says daily cold temperature records were broken in Bella Bella, Port Hardy and Squamish.

The temperature in Bella Bella was -8.2 C, the coldest on record for that date, Port Hardy's -6.2 C was below the 1980 record, and in Squamish, the -7.4 C temperature was under a the low set in 1994.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2022.