Snow forecast for mountains around B.C.'s South Coast, Vancouver Island

Snow-covered houses and the downtown Vancouver skyline are seen with the North Shore mountains in the distance on Thursday, December 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Snow is in the forecast for the mountains of British Columbia's South Coast this week, with accumulation possible on the higher peaks around Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island.

A low-pressure system will move down the coast Tuesday, bringing along precipitation and temperatures five degrees below seasonal for Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

The system will further drive down temperatures to between 12 and 13 degrees below seasonal averages in the B.C. Interior, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan.

Snow is already falling or expected to fall Monday in the province's southeast, with the weather service warning drivers to prepare for blustery conditions around Rogers Pass, the East Kootenays and Elk Valley.

Commuters on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland could see wet snow accumulate Wednesday morning on the region's mountain passes, including Vancouver Island's Malahat drive, the summits around Port Alberni, highways north of Campbell River, and the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.

"The Sea-to-Sky (Highway) will see much less precipitation but there are still chances of flurries" with cool outflow winds coming down Howe Sound, Castellan said.

Vancouver's North Shore mountains and Vancouver Island's Mount Arrowsmith will likely see a dusting of snow before Wednesday afternoon, with some accumulation possible as the ground cools, Castellan said.

British Columbia's South Coast was on a potentially record-setting track for the warmest October in recent memory, but this week's unseasonable cool temperatures are expected to "equal it all out," Castellan said.

The forecaster expects temperatures to warm up again by Oct. 31, with a return to seasonal or even above seasonal in the first week of November.