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High winds and heavy snow forecast for much of southern B.C.

Environment Canada issued warnings, watches and advisories for several regions
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(THE NEWS – files)

Batten down the hatches — another winter storm is set to hit B.C.

Environment Canada has issued winter storm warnings for much of the Southern Interior and the Kootenays. Between 25-35 cm are expected for the Coquihalla Highway and up to 30 cm is expected to fall on Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton.

In the Kootenays, 30-40 cm of snow are expected to fall on Highway 3 near Paulson Summitt with wind speeds reaching up to 70km/h.

Further north, snow squall watches are in effect for 100 Mile, Kinbasket, North Columbia, North Thompson and South Thompson. Snow squalls occur when high winds meet heavy snow to reduce visibility to near zero.

Meanwhile, on the coast, a special weather statement is in effect for the Southern Gulf Islands and Greater Victoria where winds will reach speeds between 50km - 70km per hour, threatening to topple trees and cause power outages.

Several Lower Mainland residents awoke Saturday morning (Dec. 11) without power and residents in Golden have been without since Thursday (Dec. 9) due to a substation fault.

READ MORE: Power expected to return in Golden after approximately 30 hours

READ MORE: Windy weather warning: Gusts of up to 80 km/h predicted to hit Okanagan, Shuswap