Chilly temperatures in the Okanagan for first week of February

North America’s weather prognosticating groundhogs couldn’t reach a consensus on whether there will be six more weeks of winter, but Environment Canada is predicting one of the coldest weeks of the winter to start in February in the Okanagan.

Monday will start off with a windchill near -12 C. Daytime highs will range between -5 C and -7 C for Monday through Thursday.

Overnight lows are expected to dip into the negative double digits. Monday night’s lows will be near -8 C but will feel about five degrees colder. Tuesday and Wednesday’s lows are forecast to sink near -14 C. On Thursday, it should be around -10 C overnight.

“We have an Arctic air mass that has moved into the Interior of British Columbia,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau.

“It’s going to sort of settle in place through the week. Gradually we do see a little bit of moderation towards Friday and Saturday, but really through the week, expecting temperatures to be below seasonal normals.”

Temperatures are forecast to get back to within a few degrees of seasonal on Friday and Saturday, with highs near -2 C and lows near -10 C.

There is a slight chance of flurries early in the week, with snowfall of up to 5 centimetres in the West Kelowna and Peachland area Monday afternoon. Otherwise, the dry pattern we saw through much of January is expected to continue.

“So, not looking at a lot of precipitation following, I guess, a month in which it was quite a bit drier than normal,” said Charbonneau.

She didn’t have the final statistics, but in some areas, including Kelowna, January was on track to be one of the driest on record.

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