Snow could fall tonight

Temperatures forecast to dip below zero as arctic front ‘clips’ Okanagan

An arctic front’s glancing blow could deliver light snow to the valley bottom tonight.

Temperatures are forecast to fall below zero for the first time this fall as October gets off to a chilly start.

“We may see some light snow in certain areas, and there could be as much as 15 centimetres at the Pennask Summit on the Okanagan Connector,” Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist said Monday.

Environment Canada on Monday issued snowfall warnings for the Cariboo, Chilcotin and 100 Mile regions, as well as Yoho and Kootenay Parks, and for mountain passes through the Shuswap, north and east Columbia.

As much as 30 centimetres could blanket the two parks and the mountain passes of southeastern B.C., while accumulations of 15 to 20 centimetres were forecast in the other areas by today.

Winter’s preview is a result of an arctic front that has slumped as far south as 100 Mile House.

“The front is just going to sort of clip us, which is why we’ll see the colder temperatures and the snow,” Lundquist said.

Any snow that does fall at lower elevations won’t last, however, as Wednesday calls for a return to a more seasonal high temperature of 15 C. The arctic front will move east, driving temperatures down as low as -4 C in places such as Calgary.

The rest of the week in Kelowna, Lundquist says, will be typically fall-like with a mix of sun and cloud and a slight chance of showers.

September’s average temperature in Kelowna was 14 C, about the same as the long-term average for the month, 13.9 C.

Rainfall was 35 millimetres, three mm more than the average for September. Much of the rain last month came on just one day, Sept. 21, when 18 mm was recorded.