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Kelowna  

Hail, lightning, heavy rain

Rob Gibson

The unsettled weather we've been experiencing all week brought some hail and lightning to the Okanagan Thursday.

Submitted video shows heavy hail pounding Brian Johnson's deck.

Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon says a cold trough has been moving through the Okanagan bringing rain, hail and unsettled conditions, including blustery winds and lightning.

There were also reports of smoke in the hills above Joe Rich Thursday afternoon, which may have been sparked by lightning.

Environment Canada was calling for the risk of thunderstorms Thursday night, with the possibility of more hail.

"With those thunderstorms, we can have some small hail, heavy downpours, and lightning."

But Sekhon says things will turn around just in time for the weekend. "Drying conditions are coming, and we will be returning to normal and even warmer than normal temperatures by the weekend."

Sekhon the Okanagan has had a wetter July than in past years. As of Thursday, we're at 90 per cent of our normal precipitation for July but, "even though the past couple of years have been fairly dry, this year is actually pretty normal  for the period between 1981 and 2010."

The past few years, we've had very little July precipitation in Kelowna – "The last four years have been drier than normal, and this year is looking fairly on par with normal, we'll see how this summer shapes up."

For now, Sekhon's advice is to get out and enjoy the weekend because it looks like it's going to be a hot one.



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