Winter rings in the New Year, with flurries for Prince Rupert, heavy snow for points inland

Downtown Prince Rupert saw a dusting of snow overnight

The first day back to work for the New Year featured a bit of snow shovelling, with Prince Rupert receiving a light dusting of snow for the second day of 2020, a sample of what may be the forecast for the next few days as Arctic cold and South Pacific weather fronts clash above us.

The first snowfall for the year came in the overnight period and City Crews appeared ready to meet the dusting, with most major routes plowed and hills sanded by the time the morning commute was underway.

The Sixth Avenue East Hill after the overnight snowfall

The early morning snow will give way to rain by mid day, with the snow possibly returning this evening for a repeat of the day for Friday. A look at the Environment Canada forecast suggests that the cycle seems set in place for the next week.

The arrival of winter suggests that at the moment, the Arctic side of the weather systems is push the Atmospheric River system we made note of on New Years Eve more to the south with some heavy snow expected for the Bella Coola and Central Coast region through the day today.

For those travelling inland, the conditions will be much more challenging with a Snowfall Warning now in effect for all points east including Terrace, Kitimat and Smithers. What if is called a long period of snowfall is on the way with up to 60 cm of accumulation expected before it tapers off and possibly turns to rain by Friday evening.

You can keep up to date with the weather through the Environment Canada website.

As the weather arrives road conditions across the Northwest can change quickly, you can keep track of the latest conditions through the Drive BC website and twitter feed.

You can also check the Ministry of Transportation Highway Cameras along the way, the transit to Terrace is available for viewing up until the Kwinitsa camera, with the Ministry camera locations of Kasiks and Terrace all still out of order.

The Marine Weather is also set to offer some challenges for Mariners, with a Gale Warning now in effect with Winds up to 35 knots from the East through the morning backing down to 25 knots by Friday morning.

As Environment Canada keeps watch on the approaching system, we'll offer up more notes as the weather service provides them should the alert levels be raised.

For notes on past weather events see our archive page here.

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