Dec. 25 likely to be more green than white
Meteorologist says Kelowna may see dusting of snow on Christmas Day, but little more
The chance of a true white Christmas is slim this year, but Kelowna residents may see a dusting of snow Christmas Day, says Environment Canada.
“We do have an official definition of a white Christmas, which is two centimetres of snow on the ground, and it looks like that might be hard to reach,” said Carmen Hart, meteorologist with Environment Canada. “A dusting is possible, but it’s still not certain yet.”
Environment Canada’s recipe for a perfect Christmas is two cm of snow on the ground and snow in the air sometime on Christmas Day.
In the last 62 years, 26 per cent of Christmases in Kelowna have been perfect Christmases, while 63 per cent of them have been white Christmases, said Hart.
However, this year, there does not appear to be a snowy system coming through between now and Christmas, she said.
This past week has been unseasonably warm, and that mild weather is expected to continue today, with a forecast high of 7 C and a nighttime low of 0 C.
Normal for this time of year is a high of 1 C and a low of -6 C.
“The past few days have been a good five degrees above normal,” said Hart. “The month started out closer to normal, and (then) we had a week to 10 days of this milder weather.”
Temperatures will start dropping on Thursday, which has a forecast high of 2 C and a chance of showers or flurries.
“We’ll get into more of a winter regime in time for the winter solstice,” said Hart.
The first day of winter is Friday, also known as the shortest day of the year.
“There could be a few flurries around or wet showers on Friday for the first day of winter, and temperatures are forecast to be mild with a high of five degrees,” said Hart.
Environment Canada issued a warning for the Coquihalla Highway Tuesday morning.
About 17 cm of snow fell near the Coquihalla summit Monday night, and an additional 15 to 20 cm was expected by late Tuesday afternoon.
The snow is expected to ease off today, and driving conditions should be all right in the days leading up to Christmas, said Hart.
“The weekend looks good for travel, once we get past the Thursday system,” said Hart. “Those good conditions will continue into Christmas week.”