Summer forecast raises prospect of another active wildfire season

Weather Network predicts hot, dry conditions through July and August, with temperatures 2 or 3 degrees above normal

This summer will be a hot and dry one in the Okanagan, says the Weather Network. The average temperature for June, July and August in Kelowna is around 26 C to 27 C, said meteorologist Nadine Powell.

But this summer’s average for the three months is expected to be around 28 C to 30 C.

The above-normal summer temperatures will be similar to last year, but moisture from spring flooding is expected to contribute to wet conditions in June, said Powell.

“Over the next few weeks or so, there is concern that with some of the residual moisture that has been spread into the ground from the snowmelt . . . we may see a few storms pop up,” said Powell. “But then further into the summer months . . . we really settle into really dry conditions.”

Although the Okanagan has seen temperatures that are higher than normal during the past few weeks, the weather is expected to cool closer to seasonal values this week.

Melting of the record snowpack in the Okanagan is expected to lead to a slow start to wildfire season for the first part of the summer, said Powell.

“In years past, the fire season has started quite early, but because of the snowpack that we’ve had over the winter and a lot of the melting we’ve had during the spring, that has delayed the really extensive wildfires,” she said. “But once we dry up . . . that’s when we can start to see that situation coming into play for us again.”

The significant dry heat is expected to begin in July and persist through August, which could result in another active wildfire season, said Powell.

“Typically, we tend to be very dry and very hot in the Interior during the summer.”

The forecast high in Kelowna today is 19 C, with a low of 7 C, according to the Weather Network.

Last year on May 29, the high temperature in Kelowna was 31.8 C, with a low of 9.7 C.

The record high for the month of May in Kelowna in the last 30 years was 33.2 C on May 29, 1995, and the record low was -2.1 C on May 9, 1999.

Daily Courier file photo Boaters line up last summer in the lagoons near Kelowna’s Delta Grand hotel to use the boat lock. This summer should be great for boating in the Okanagan if the Weather Network’s prediction of a hot and dry July and August comes true.