By Ashley Legassic

Winter weather causes crashes on Coquihalla; better conditions expected today

Dec 21, 2018 | 9:24 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — Slippery and snowy conditions caused some havoc on the Coquihalla Highway yesterday evening — although the area didn’t get as much precipitation as predicted.

Drive BC said last night that the Coquihalla experienced up to one hour delays between Hope and Merritt due to winter driving conditions including blowing snow.

That stretch was also closed from about 7:30 p.m. to just after midnight this morning due to multiple vehicle incidents and adverse weather conditions.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Bobby Sekhon says no travel advisories are in place today for the Coquihalla, but drivers are reminded to take caution.

“Please, for anybody who’s travelling this weekend just keep an eye on Drive BC and the forecast for the travellers routes,” he says. “Conditions could change so just keep an eye out and… the next storm is on Saturday so just keep an eye out for that and use precautions.”

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Sekhon says the last of the flurries are falling on the highway today, but things should stay dry until another system moves in tomorrow morning (Dec. 22).

A bit further north, temperatures were unseasonably warm in Kamloops yesterday. The city hit a record high of 11.9 C, just edging out the previous record of 11.7 C from 1965.

The short-term forecast for the city looks dry for the most part but we could get a few flurries before Christmas day.