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June snow in the forecast for some B.C. highways this weekend

Coquihalla Highway is seen in this undated image. (Shutterstock) Coquihalla Highway is seen in this undated image. (Shutterstock)
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The summer solstice is one week away, but B.C.'s mountain passes could look more like winter this weekend, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The agency issued special weather statements for the Coquihalla Highway, Okanagan Connector, Allison Pass, Kootenay Pass and Rogers Pass Friday, warning that snow is possible Saturday and Sunday.

"An upper low will bring a cool airmass to the B.C. Interior this weekend," ECCC's statement reads.

"The colder air along with occasionally heavy precipitation means the mountain passes can expect some snow through the weekend."

The statement calls for fairly light accumulation, with amounts varying from "trace" to five centimetres.

However, it also warns drivers that "weather in the mountains can change suddenly" and advises monitoring alerts and forecasts from ECCC and checking road conditions on drivebc.ca.

Unseasonably cool temperatures have already taken hold in some parts of the Interior, with four communities tying or breaking record lows for June 13 on Thursday.

Merritt tied its previous record of 1.1 C, which was set back in 1950, according to Environment Canada. Records have been kept in the city since 1918.

The Nakusp area also tied its lowest recorded temperature for June 13, with the mercury dropping as low as 4.8 C on Thursday. The last time it got that cold on that date was 2001.

The Burns Lake and Tatlayoko Lake areas each set new low-temperature records on Thursday. Burns Lake saw a low of -4.3 C, breaking the previous record of -2.8 set in 1956, while Tatlayoko Lake broke a record from 1945. The temperature dropped to -3.2 on Thursday. The previous record for June 13 was -2.8, set 79 years ago. 

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