‘Abnormally normal’ July in Kamloops, Okanagan

PENTICTON – It may have seemed like a particularly cool and wet month, but it wasn't actually that remarkable.

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist calls July’s weather in Kamloops and the Okanagan “abnormally normal,” with the four major cities in the region recording temperatures within one degree of average and no city reporting precipitation more than 20 per cent above average.

There were no weather records set in any of the four biggest cities in July.

"The main thing is, it was really close to the average for July," he says.

Lundquist says the conditions made a big impact on wildfire behaviour. The lack of scorching heat and wetter weather experienced this year over the previous two Julys resulted in much better air quality and far fewer fire issues.

A major anomaly for the month was the number of lightning strikes in the province, with 264,000 strikes recorded.

Lundquist says the average for July is 97,000, over 20 years of record keeping.

He theorizes the reason for increased lightning activity had to do with a trough sitting overtop of the province for most of the month, which was bounded by hot weather in the western U.S., Alaska and the Yukon.

“It was relatively warm, so there was more energy in the atmosphere, while here in B.C. there was a lot of unstable air,” he says.

Rapidly moving weather systems crossing the province also produced more windy conditions in July.

Lundquist says looking forward, the long-range forecast for the next three months is for more above-average temperatures. He speculates there may be some smoke haze on the horizon, based on forecasted weather conditions, due to smoke drifting into B.C. from wildfires burning in Siberia and Alaska.

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