Winter storm to bring more snow, freezing rain to Vancouver Island

Another winter storm system is bearing down on Vancouver Island as residents are still grappling with heavy snowfall and bitterly cold temperatures.

Environment Canada upgraded its winter storm watches to winter storm warnings on Vancouver Island Thursday morning.

CTV News weather for Dec. 22, 2022. (CTV News)

The weather office says heavy snow, freezing rain, high winds, ice pellets and heavy rain are all in the forecast from Thursday evening until Saturday.

"As freezing levels rise, heavy snow will become mixed with ice pellets and then change to rain late Friday over most of Vancouver Island," Environment Canada warned.

"Local blowing snow is possible in strong easterly winds resulting in near-zero visibilities."

The storm system will make travel challenging across much of the island, the weather agency said.

"Furthermore, freezing rain is expected during the transition from snow to rain, which could cause significant impact on road conditions," Environment Canada added.

Most of the province is under an extreme cold warning or winter storm watch as bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous wind chill values of -40 C hit some regions.

"As the system progresses and warming becomes dominant, heavy rain is expected. Localized flooding due to snow-blocked drains and melting snow is likely," the weather office said.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority took the precaution of closing the Ogden Point breakwater on Thursday, saying it will continue to monitor the weather and reopen the area when it is safe to do so.