Winter storm warnings in place for mountain highways after parts of Metro Vancouver awake to surprise snowfall

Parts of B.C.'s South Coast woke up to a surprise hit of winter weather on Thursday morning, but Environment Canada says the snowfall has now mostly ended.

The unexpected accumulation brought a warning for the morning commute as police urged drivers to be careful.

New Westminsterpolicereportedit had respondedto severalcollisions due to messy, slippery road conditions.

Environment Canada said up to threecentimetres fell in parts of the Lower Mainland, butareaslike Richmond and parts of Burnabyavoided the localized band of snow.

More wild weather is still expected for the region, too. Later Thursday, the weather agency issued a wind warning for much of Metro Vancouver and the southern Gulf Islands, saying gusts of 70 to 90 kilometres an hour can be expected early Friday morning.

Winter storm warnings are in effectfor the CoquihallaHighway and Highway 3 fromHope to Princeton via Allison Pass. There's also a snowfall warningin place for Highway 3 from Paulson Summit to Kootenay Pass.

Environment Canada says it will be mainly cloudy tonight and windy at times, with a low near 3 C. Conditions are expected tocleartomorrow, with a high of8 C, but strong northwesterly winds are also forecast.