Snow clings to the leaves of a palm tree as a woman walks along English Bay Beach in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday January 16, 2012.
Wintery conditions remain bleak Tuesday morning in the Fraser Valley, where many schools have closed and cars are slipping and sliding on the highways.
Cold Arctic air continues to move through B.C. creating wind chills that are reaching as low as -40 degrees Celsius in the northern and interior regions. Significant snowfall is expected throughout Tuesday in the Fraser Valley.
Limited visibility and extreme weather conditions have forced closures on Highway 3, between Sparwood and the B.C.-Alberta boundary, and on highways 7 and 9 between Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs.
The RCMP also warns drivers to stay off Highway 1, where there are numerous slippery sections, particularly east of 264th Street.
A snowfall warning from Environment Canada continues for Fraser Valley, where up to 10 centimetres of snow is expected Tuesday. The warning was removed for Metro Vancouver, but another blast of snow is expected for Wednesday in both regions.
These conditions are expected to continue, if not worsen, until at least the weekend, Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones said on Monday.
"As the week progresses, the weather's going to get increasingly interesting across the province," Mr. Jones said. "These dynamic conditions are just part of the natural variation in the weather, but it's somewhat irregular for the cold Arctic air to come this very far south."