Winter could soon feel like a “distant memory” because spring will be in the Okanagan air before the season officially starts on the night of March 19.
Environment Canada says the sun will be out and shining this weekend when temperatures are 5 to 10 C warmer than normal and reach daytime marks of 18 C.
“Things have been relatively cool, but now we’re going to see quite a dramatic warm-up when this high ridge of pressure warms over the province,” said Alyssa Charbonneau, a meteorologist at the federal department.
Charbonneau says temperatures in the Okanagan and Shuswap from March 16 to 18, will feel “more like April or May” and that no precipitation is forecasted for the region until at least the middle of next week.
“It’s like we’re skipping March,” she added.
The expected rise in temperature comes after Vernon, Penticton and Kelowna experienced their 11th, 12th and 16th warmest winters ever, respectively, according to Environment Canada. Records date back to the early 1900s.
Penticton, in particular, led the region in precipitation by recording 109.7 millimetres. That’s 145 per cent higher than the city’s average wintertime mark.
“It was a winter of extremes,” Charbonneau said. “At times, extremely dry and cold, but other times, quite mild with a fair amount of precipitation.”
Although temperatures are expected to rise later this week, the meteorologist warns that a return to mild wintertime conditions is always possible.
“There’s a strong hint that things will return to seasonal by [the middle] of next week, which is about 8 C with an overnight low of -2 C,” Charbonneau said.
“I don’t like to say winter is over too soon…spring can be quite unpredictable at times, but certainly for the next week or so, winter will feel like a distant memory.”
Daytime marks in all three aforementioned cities, as well as Salmon Arm, will reach 16 C on Saturday and hit highs of up to 18 C through Monday, March 18.
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