Environment Canada has issued a snowfall and freezing rain warning for the West Kootenay.
Between 10-20 centimetres of snow is expected to fall through Wednesday evening to Thursday morning. The alert covers the Paulson Summit on Highway 3 east of Grand Forks to the Creston area, as well as Trail, Castlegar, Nelson and communities on the north end of Kootenay Lake.
The alert does not include the Slocan Valley or East Kootenay, but a separate weather advisory has been issued by Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting. While the advisory is not an official alert, it does advise motorists of snow weather conditions and urges them to be careful when driving on the highway.
The advisory forecasts 10 cm of snow for Cranbrook in the coming days by Nov. 22 and turning to a mixture of snow and rain on the weekend.
Meanwhile, Yahk is expected to see overnight snowfall up to five cm, turning to rain by Nov. 21.
The Elk Valley is expected to see the most snow, with 19 cm accumulating by Nov. 23, while the Columbia Valley will see milder weather with only three cm of snow accumulating by Nov. 21, turning to rain on Nov. 22.
Mainroad Contracting is urging motorists to report any issues on the East Kootenay highways through its 24-hour communications and dispatch office at 1-800-665-4929, and to check www.drivebc.ca before heading out.
