A change in weather

Photo: Contributed - http://www.avalanche.ca/weather

Thursday will be hot, hot, hot – according to Environment Canada.

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-to-high 30s, with the possibility of a record being broken in some areas of the Central Okanagan.

Already this week, temperature records were broken across the valley as the heat wave continues. In Kelowna, temperatures reached 36.5 C, beating the old record of 35.7 C in 1985. In Kamloops, the mercury reached 38 C, beating the 1985 record of 37.5 C.

In Penticton, the 1985 record of 36 C was broken by just 0.9 degrees, and in Vernon temperatures hit 36.2 C, beating the 1918 record of 35 C.

Andre Besson with Environment Canada says there will be low flow in the area today, which means smoke from nearby wildfires will remain overnight.

“We are in a change of weather pattern, starting tomorrow. The current upper ridge of high pressure will start breaking down, as we have an upper trough that will move over the coast and this will help destabilize the atmosphere over the province, bringing with it strong, moist, unstable air over the Interior.”

Those living in Vernon may notice their skies are much clearer compared to Kelowna. That's due to northwest winds pushing the haze to the south. Besson is forecasting 20 km/h winds to pick up in Kelowna this afternoon, which may push some of the smoke further south.

“But, because we are under this ridge of high pressure, there won’t be much flow that will push all of the smoke out,” he says, which means we could be under these grey skies for a few more days.

A smoky skies advisory remains in affect for most of the Southern Interior. Those with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted.

Friday and into the weekend, Kelowna could experience thunderstorms with lightning.

“Because it has been so warm, a lot of precipitation that will come with this storm will not even reach the surface – it may evaporate,” explains Besson, who adds that dry lighting is in the forecast for the weekend.

Besson isn’t making assumptions on how much precipitation the Central Okanagan will get or where showers will happen, but says he hopes most fires in the region receive some rain.

“What we really need for these forest fires is widespread large-scale precipitation, basically 15 mm of precipitation over two or three days. But, right now, I don’t foresee that kind of precipitation."

Environment Canada expects cooler temperatures for the start of next week that are closer to the seasonal average of 26 C.