Photo: Contributed

The spring equinox may be three weeks away, but as far as weather forecasters are concerned, winter is over.

“Meteorologically, we call it the first day of spring” Doug Lundquist with Environment Canada said, referring to March 1.

“By later today we will see it start to warm up, and over next week, temperatures will be warmer,” he added, stating people can expect high temperatures in mid to high single digits.

Lundquist cautioned there will still be a chance of snow, in the early morning or overnight hours, but “it looks like we are pretty much out of it," in the South Okanagan.

“I have seen the equinox be the coldest day for winter, we still have March to get through, but we are past the brunt of winter,” he said noting that doesn’t apply to higher elevations, like the Coquihalla. Vernon got another blast of winter today. 

Looking back at February, it was a “cold, wet and snowy” one in Penticton.

The city got 29 cm of snow last month, well above an average February's 8 cm. Total precipitation also exceeded normal; 30 mm instead of a typical 20 mm.

The average temperature also dipped to -2 C, three degrees below normal.