Winter's cold hand is touching the West after days of balmy weather. Two major B.C. highways have been closed down after bad weather triggered multiple vehicle accidents.

The storm affected an area northeast east of Vancouver. The Trans-Canada and Coquihalla highways were closed due to a dump of 50 centimetres of snow as crews scrambled to keep up with the unexpected storm.

The arctic front that brought snow to province's interior is now is expected to move to Vancouver's Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Environment Canada is predicting rain or flurries overnight for both regions.

Temperatures could also remain below zero in Vancouver over the weekend. The five-day forecast for Hope indicates the region could see more flurries over the next several days.

B.C.'s capital, Victoria, could also see some snow after holding its annual flower count last weekend. Volunteers counted 3.5 billion buds in private backyards and around the city.

Eastern Canada has been facing snow and sub-zero temperatures for days. Toronto is suffering its coldest March on record as temperatures dipped to -24 degrees Celsius early in the week.

Cities like Toronto and Fredericton are normally around 0 degrees Celsius on March 3, but instead, the two cities are suffering in -35 and -27 degree temperatures with the wind chill.

In Toronto, the city issued its first March cold weather alert Monday -- the first ever in March. So far this season, the city has seen eight cold alerts. Usually, there are about two or three warnings in a season.