Southern B.C. faces messy roads, localized flooding with heavy rain, melting snow
VANCOUVER — Part of southern British Columbia is facing a two-day weather system that’s expected to bring heavy rain and snowmelt due to rising freezing levels, resulting in potentially messy driving conditions and localized flooding.
Environment Canada says the latest advisory is for the West Kootenay region including Nelson, Castlegar and Trail, where wet snow and rain is expected to last into Monday as the freezing level, or height at which snow melts, rises to 2,000 metres.
The combination of rain and melted snow is expected to create slippery road surfaces, especially for parts of Highway 3 from Grand Forks to Creston where mountainous stretches could see up to 20 centimetres of snow before rain and snowmelt hamper travel in the region.
Meanwhile, parts of Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island also remain under a rainfall warning, with Environment Canada increasing the amount of expected precipitation to nearly 120 millimetres in the north shore and Coquitlam near the mountains.
