Okanagan, Kamloops may say good-bye to Arctic air this weekend: Environment Canada

This winter’s first deep freeze in the Okanagan and Kamloops is coming to an end, and hopefully temperatures will begin their upward climb this upcoming long weekend.

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says this week’s cold snap should be a memory by early next week.

“The warm up should begin Sunday or Monday, with temperatures getting back to average on Tuesday or Wednesday,” Lundquist says.

He says Kamloops and the Okanagan rarely come out of a deep freeze like this one without some precipitation falling during the transition. He expects a few centimetres of snow to fall as the temperatures begin warming during the latter half of the Family Day long weekend.

“That’s likely going to make for some nasty driving conditions. It’s a little too soon to say how much snow will fall, or whether that will be combined with freezing rain,” Lundquist says.

Kamloops and Vernon are expected to see overnight lows of -22 Celsius and -19 C tonight, Feb. 11, and tomorrow night before temperatures begin moderating on Saturday night.

Kelowna should see lows of -21 C and -19 C, while Penticton should see temperatures dip to -16 C and -19 C respectively, with daytime highs ranging from -14 C in Kamloops to -9 C in Penticton today and tomorrow.

Could this be the first and last Arctic blast this winter? A look at the long-term forecast from Accuweather for February and March shows no sign of the Arctic air returning.

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 tips@infonews.ca 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.