It’s a white Christmas for Greater Victoria, as residents woke up to find a light dusting of wet snow on the ground Saturday.
In downtown Victoria, roads remained wet but clear of snow as of 8 a.m., while in the West Shore roads had patches of snow, making for slippery driving conditions.
Drive BC is warning Highway 14 motorists to watch for slippery sections of compact snow between Cerantes Road and Kangaroo Road for 84 km (Port Renfrew to Metchosin).
Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Greater Victoria, East Vancouver Island, Duncan, Nanaimo, and the Malahat Highway.
The weather agency said significant snowfall is expected to begin in the afternoon and continue into Sunday morning, bringing as much as 10 centimetres.
Christmas Day is expected to see a high of 2 C, with southwest winds for 20 km/h gusting to 40. Winds will be stronger near the Juan de Fuca Strait, blowing west at 40 km/h with gusts reaching 70.
Overnight, temperatures are expected to drop to -5 C with the wind chill making it feel like a frigid - 13 C as winds shift northeast blowing at 30 km/h, gusts hitting 50.
Boxing Day is expected to be even colder, but should bring a break from the snow by morning, and a mix of sun and cloud for the remainder of the day. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of - 1 C, with the windchill making it feel like -14 C in the morning, -9 C in the afternoon as northeast winds continue at 40 km/h, gusting to 60.
Overnight heading into Monday, temperatures are expected to reach a low of -9 C with cloudy periods.
READ MORE: 25 years since the Blizzard of ‘96
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