Thompson-Okanagan coming out of much colder-than-normal November

It was a colder-than-usual November throughout the Thompson-Okanagan.

Environment Canada says Kelowna and Vernon recorded their fourth-coldest Novembers on record. Penticton had its third coldest while Kamloops saw its sixth-coldest.

“So certainly, it was cold," said Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon.

Snowfall hit the region early in November, with daily snowfall records being broken twice in Penticton on Nov. 6 and 8.

“For the month of November, basically we ended up with almost 30 centimetres of snow in Penticton,” Sekhon said.

The mean temperature in Kelowna last month was -1.8C, well below the average of 2.6 C. Precipitation rates were close to normal in the city.

Kamloops' precipitation total for the month of November was 45 per cent above normal, 33.8 millimetres last month above an average of 23.3 mm.

Penticton got precipitation 177 per cent of normal while Vernon was 110 per cent of normal.

Environment Canada tells Castanet the early cold could mean it's the beginning of a long winter for the Thompson-Okanagan.

“Temperatures are looking anywhere from five to 10 degrees below average for this time of year for the next several days through the weekend," he said.

"It looks like things are in tune with that La Nina pattern, which usually brings us cooler winters here in B.C.”

Environment Canada says more snow is on the way this weekend for the Thompson-Okanagan, but that it should clear up by early next week.

Here are the temperature and precipitation stats for November 2022. #BCstorm pic.twitter.com/ae28qeqsf7

— ECCC Weather British Columbia (@ECCCWeatherBC) December 1, 2022