Thousands still without power on B.C.'s South Coast; snow in forecast

More than 8,500 BC Hydro customers in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast remained without power Sunday morning, more than 24 hours after the end of Friday night's windstorm.

The Crown corporation's crews made good progress throughout the day Saturday and overnight, restoring power to more than 98 per cent of the 330,000 who lost it during the storm.

"Crews will continue to work throughout the day and we expect to have the majority of customers restored today," BC Hydro said in a statement Sunday morning.

The utility added that the only "possible exception" was "small pockets of customers" in Chilliwack and elsewhere in the Fraser Valley where infrastructure suffered significant damage or was hard to access.

On the heels of Friday's storm, more precipitation is in the forecast Sunday, prompting snowfall warnings for much of the province from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

While a snowfall warning was issued for Metro Vancouver on Saturday, it had been cancelled by Sunday morning as the forecast changed. 

Warnings remained in place for Howe Sound and the Fraser Valley, with Environment Canada warning specifically of snow on highway mountain passes, including the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt and Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton.

"A Pacific low pressure system off Vancouver Island will spread snow across the southwest interior this morning then to the Kootenays this afternoon," the weather agency said.

"The snow will become heaviest tonight with most of the accumulation occurring during this time. Kootenay Pass and Begbie Summit will receive lesser amounts of near 10 centimetres tonight while the other areas will receive 15 centimetres or more."

Total accumulations of 15 to 25 centimetres are expected on Interior highways before the snow eases on Monday, according to Environment Canada.