Old man winter is at it again.

Environment Canada has issued its third consecutive snowfall warning for the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope.

The forecast calls for up to 15 centimetres of snow to fall on that section of road overnight tonight, and another 15 to 25 cm is expected on Friday.

Weather in the mountains can change suddenly resulting in hazardous driving conditions, and motorists are advised to adjust to winter driving behaviour and use winter tires and chains.

Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow.

Snowfall warnings are issued when significant snowfall is expected.

Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings earlier this week for the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope on Tuesday (Feb. 28) and Wednesday (Mar. 1).

The Merritt to Hope section of the Coquihalla received 16 cm at the summit between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and another 13 cm during the day on Wednesday, said Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau.

The snow tapered off Wednesday afternoon and the highway didn’t receive the large snowfall yesterday’s warning called for, she said, noting that another three centimetres fell on the Coquihalla overnight.

“It hasn’t been solid blocks of heavy snow the whole time, [but] there’s been several waves of heavier snow that’s come through, so the warning has basically stayed in effect through these different systems,” Charbonneau said.

“Overall, it looks like about 32 centimetres have fallen since Tuesday afternoon,” she said.

With tonight’s snowfall warning calling for up to another 40 cm, up to 72 cm of snow could fall on the Coquihalla between Merritt and Hope by Saturday.

Charbonneau said this type of weather isn’t out of the ordinary this time of year.

“Especially for the Coquihalla, which can be a very snowy route,” she said.

She said the heavy snow is expected to return to the Coquihalla next week.

“It does look like it’s going to dry out a little bit going into the weekend, although some flurries are still going to be possible, and then it looks like potentially some heavier snow coming as we move into the beginning of the week,” Charbonneau told the Herald.

Road conditions are available at www.drivebc.ca.