Vernon was the Okanagan hotspot in August

August was generally warm and dry in the Thompson-Okanagan region, and those conditions were most pronounced in for Vernon, according to Environment Canada.

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says Vernon's average temperature for the month was 20.6 Celsius, compared to the normal of 18.8 C. The city also saw only 30 per cent of the normal precipitation for August at 13 millimetres versus the 42 mm that usually falls.

Kamloops's average temperature was slightly warmer than Vernon for August at 20.7 C, but that is below the 20.9 C it normally sees. The city had 11 mm of precipitation compared to the 24 mm that normally falls, which was 45 per cent of average.

Kelowna’s temperature was 0.4 C above average with the August mean temperature of 21.1 C compared to the normal 20.7 C. Penticton was a half degree above average for August, with an average temperature of 20.9 C compared to the normal 20.4 C. There are no precipitation records for Kelowna or Penticton.

Lundquist says the summer statistics for Kamloops and the Okanagan were ‘all over the place,’ as the season began wet and cold and ended on a warmer and drier note.

With meteorological summer over as of yesterday, Aug. 31, he says the the overall summer statistics indicate Kamloops and Penticton had slightly cooler than normal summers while Kelowna and Vernon had slightly warmer ones.

Lundquist says for the whole summer season, Kamloops was a degree below average for temperature, with precipitation 85 per cent of normal for the season. Penticton’s average temperature was 0.6 C below normal, while Kelowna’s was 0.6 C above average. Vernon’s seasonal average temperature for summer this year was 0.1 C above normal, with precipitation at 75 per cent of normal.

Lundquist says the outlook is for temperatures in the 30s this week in Kamloops and the Okanagan, with the long range fall outlook indicating a “high likelihood” of warmer than average temperatures.

“Call it an extension of summer weather,” Lundquist says.

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