A break from new snow

Photo: Castanet webcams

Kelowna was blanketed with heavy snow Friday night.

UPDATE: 10:25 a.m.

The Okanagan may have seen its last bit of new snow for several days, after a significant snowfall Friday night, through Saturday morning. 

Environment Canada recorded 10 centimetres of snowfall overnight at their weather station near UBC Okanagan, on top of the 22 centimetres from previous storms. 

The snowfall warning that remained in effect for the Central Okanagan this morning has since lifted, as a high-pressure system moves its way in from the north. 

"In the next couple hours, we should be seeing more of a clearing trend," said Cindy Yu, meteorologist with Environment Canada. "We do have a ridge of high pressure building over the next couple of days, so today is kind of a transition day."

Drier conditions, with temperatures hovering around an unseasonably cold -8 C, are expected to persist through until late next week. 

The long-term forecast shows snow possibly returning to the valley Thursday or Friday. 

ORIGINAL: 7:30 a.m.

After an evening of heavy snow in the Okanagan, a snowfall warning remains in effect for the Central Okanagan, with another five centimetres of snow expected to fall Saturday morning.

Including the snowfall last night, Environment Canada expects a total of 10 to 20 centimetres to fall throughout the Central Okanagan before the snow tapers off later Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the snowfall warning has ended for the North Okanagan.

“The frontal band has moved out of the North Okanagan and into the Central Okanagan,” Environment Canada states in its warning. “Further amounts up to five cm are possible in this region before the system weakens in the next couple of hours.”

Temperatures are expected to hit a high of -6 C in Kelowna today, followed by -8 C Sunday with a mix of sun and cloud.

The mountain passes were also hit hard overnight, with 35 cm falling at the Coquihalla Summit, and 20 to 30 cm on Highway 3, between Hope and Allison Pass.

Five to 10 cm of additional snow is expected to fall in these areas Saturday morning. 

All this new snow is good news for the local ski hills. Big White was handed an extra 13 cm of powder overnight, bringing their base to 166 cm.

Seven cm of fresh snow landed at SilverStar, giving them a 148 cm base, while 15 cm overnight beefed up Apex Mountain's base to 138 cm.