Winter settling in
The cold weather and the snow are here to stay, says Environment Canada. “It looks like there are some areas around the Central and South Okanagan that have had in the range of five to eight centimetres today,” said meteorologist Ross MacDonald on Friday afternoon.
“I think maybe an additional two to five centimetres for tonight seems reasonable.”
Today, another two to five centimetres is expected to fall in Kelowna.
“It’s feeling like winter for sure,” said MacDonald.
“It’s pretty light and fluffy stuff out there. It certainly looks like with the cold temperatures, it will stick around for at least the next week.”
Next week, temperatures are expected to be a degree or two colder than this past week.
“We’re going to see a new infusion of Arctic air coming through the province on Sunday and Monday,” said MacDonald.
“It will be sunny Monday through Thursday, and there is no precipitation expected, but it will be quite cold, with daytime highs getting to -10 C and -11 C, and overnight lows of -16 C and -17 C.”
Normal temperatures for Kelowna around this time of year are daytime highs around freezing and lows of -5 C.
“We’re looking at overall temperatures being 10 to 15 degrees below normal for this time of year,” said MacDonald.
Whether or not the Okanagan will see a white Christmas this year remains a mystery, but the odds are getting better.
“It’s a little too early to promise anything for a white Christmas, but the trend is certainly in the direction of increasing the odds of a white Christmas,” said MacDonald.
“It certainly looks like this cold snap will continue until at least next Friday.”
We’re looking at overall temperatures being 10 to 15 degrees below normal for this time of year. Meteorologist Ross MacDonald