Photo: Colton Davies

Localized flooding on Main Street in Penticton during a heavy rainstorm on Mar. 22.

More than a month's worth of rain fell in Penticton on Thursday when a heavy rainstorm soaked the Okanagan — particularly the southern part of the region.

Daily rainfall records were smashed in several South Okanagan communities.

Summerland saw 32.8 millimetres of rain fall — well above a previous record for Mar. 22 of 14.4 mm in 1995. In Penticton, 29.6 mm of rain fell (previous high of 16.3 mm, 1972), while Osoyoos had 18.3 mm of rain (10.2 mm, 1988). 

Kelowna received 12.7 mm of rain in a 24-hour span, while Vernon saw 6.5 mm.

Environment Canada had been tracking a moist, convective weather system all week that was moving north from California, which has now moved east to Alberta.

Meteorologist Lisa West said the system included thunderstorms in pockets of the valley.

West said Penticton typically has about 23.6 mm of rain in March. She added, however, the historical average doesn't take into account convective weather systems like Thursday's, which can drop heavy precipitation in small areas compared to larger, more wide-spread weather systems.

While the amount of rain was less further north in the valley, Thursday's rainfall triggered flooding in areas of West Kelowna and Kelowna.