Image: DriveBC / Prest Rd at Hwy 1, in Chilliwack, looking north at 5:15 a.m., Jan. 19)
Winter weather

Freezing rain warnings all around Fraser Valley

Jan 19, 2024 | 5:33 AM

CHILLIWACK — Dangerous driving conditions are a possibility on roads and highways linking the B.C. Lower Mainland to the B.C. Interior Friday (Jan. 19). Freezing rain conditions have even been reported along Highway through Abbotsford Friday morning.

Environment Canada has issued freezing rain warnings through the Fraser Valley including Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope. Additional warnings are in place through the Fraser Canyon, the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton.

The national weather agency says a moisture-laden frontal system off the Pacific, combined with cold air in place over the lower mainland, is expected to produce an extended period of freezing rain through the region.

Snow that fell in the overnight hours, is forecast to transition into freezing rain through the afternoon. It expects the freezing rain will then ease or transition to showers or flurries by Saturday morning.

In the meantime, it warns that surfaces such as highway, residential streets and even parking lots and sidewalks could become slippery. And it calls on motorists to adjust their driving habits to fit the changing road conditions.

The Coquihalla Highway was closed to southbound traffic for a couple of hours overnight south of Kamloops after a collision. It has since reopened.