Low pressure, but high risk

Kelowna was in for almost as much rain Monday and Tuesday as the city normally receives in all of June.

And the prospect of snow overnight Monday on the Okanagan Connector only underscored what a drizzly and cool month this has been, even by June’s low-bar standards.

As much as 40 mm of rain was possible for Kelowna on Monday and into Tuesday, Environment Canada said in a special weather statement.

“A low pressure centre over Montana will slow as it enters southern Alberta today and remain in the area through Tuesday,” the statement said. “Moisture rotating around the low will give the potential of prolonged rainfall to the regions.”

Total rainfall amounts of between 20 and 40 mm are possible for the Central and North Okanagan, as well as other areas of southeastern B.C., Environment Canada says.

June is the wettest month of the year in Kelowna, with the city normally receiving about 41 mm of precipitation. As of midnight Sunday, there had already been 30.5 mm of rain in Kelowna so far this month.

Overnight Monday, the snow level was forecast to drop to 1,600 metres, Environment Canada said. The highest elevation on the Okanagan Connector between Peachland and Merritt is 1,728 metres. The snow level was forecast to rise back to 2,500 metres by Tuesday morning.

Highs in Kelowna for the rest of the week will range between 18 C and 22 C under unsettled conditions, rising to 25 C with sun by Saturday.

All city-owned grass sports fields in Vernon were closed temporarily on Monday, as they had been last week because of soggy conditions.

“Prolonged rain this morning has made the fields too wet to play and use of these spaces could cause damage to the turf,” the city said in a release.

Meanwhile, the City of West Kelowna on Monday began distributing sand and sandbags to waterfront locations, Casa Loma Bach, Falcon Park, and Sternwheeler Park.

“Although lake levels seem unlikely to surpass flood levels, lakefront properties may wish to protect their infrastructure affected by wave action from storms and floods,” the city said in a release.

The spring freshet, or snowmelt, has been delayed for weeks in B.C. because of cool weather and there is record snowpack on many mountains.

The River Forecast Centre posted the flood warning for the Elk River in the Kootenays, Monday, and added flood watches to rivers around Invermere, Radium, Revelstoke and as far west as the Shuswap.

Flood watches for rivers from the Cariboo to the East Kootenay are being maintained.

The unsettled weather has also prompted a snowfall warning for the highest elevations of Highway 3 as forecasters say 10 to 15 centimetres of snow is expected to blanket the route between Christina Lake and Creston by late Tuesday.