Mission Creek no threat right now

Creeks and rivers elsewhere in the Interior may be flowing fast, but Okanagan Lake’s largest tributary continues its stately pace.

The flow in Mission Creek, which winds down from the Greystokes through Kelowna, was at 18 cubic metres per second on Monday.

That compares with a flow of 35 cubic metres per second on May 17, 2021, a more typical rate for this point in the spring.

High streamflow advisories have been issued by the province for streams and rivers near Vernon, Salmon Arm, and Falkland.

“Streamflow in the region has been high over the past week or two due to snowmelt and repeated precipitation,” the B.C. River Forecast Centre said in the advisory, issued Saturday. “Rivers in the region may experience moderate rises on Sunday (may exceed two-year flows) depending on the amount of precipitation that falls,” the Centre said.

In Kelowna, it was a fairly wet weekend, with 4.3 millimetres of rain on Sunday, according to Environment Canada. That accounted for almost one-quarter of the rain, 17 mm, that has fallen so far in May.

Until Thursday, temperatures this week will be well below normal, with highs of only 12 C on Wednesday and 15 C on Thursday. Normal for this time of year is 21 C.

A sunnier and warmer trend is predicted in time for the Victoria Day long weekend, however the degree of warmup depends on which weather forecasters you trust.

Environment Canada is predicting highs of 20 C on Saturday and Sunday, while The Weather Network takes a gloomier view, with maximums of only 15 C and 16 C through the long weekend.