Skaha Lake slow to give up its ice this year

PENTICTON – It’s been a weird year for ice on Skaha Lake in the South Okanagan.

It was mid-February before ice began to form on Skaha Lake south of Penticton due to the unseasonably mild winter to that point.

Things changed dramatically, weather-wise, through February and now Skaha seems unable to shed its ice for the season, even after a week of near record high temperatures in the South Okanagan.

Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations biologist Eric Hegerat says he suspects its because those daytime high temperatures have been accompanied by below freezing temperatures overnight.

“We haven’t had a lot of wind in the last couple of weeks. We’ve had a couple of days of wind but not that type of consistent wind we often see this time of year,” Hegerat says.

This week the lake — which is 12 kilometres long and around two km wide — has followed a consistent pattern of thawing to some extent during the day, only to have a new skin of ice form overnight.

Hegerat says the south end of the lake still "seems to be locked up pretty tight.”

“I think that ice in the south is still a remnant of the conditions we had in February, with it being the second coldest February on record. We just had way more ice form on that south end than we normally do. I think the first time we get a strong wind out of the north, we’re going to see a lot of that stuff break up,” he says.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.