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Second-driest January on record in parts of the Okanagan

2nd-driest January on record

Cindy White

It was a very dry January in the Okanagan, and we’re not talking about people abstaining from alcohol.

Kelowna recorded its second-driest January on record, while it was the third-driest for Vernon and the third-driest in Penticton. Records date back to 1900 in Kelowna, 1901 in Vernon and 1908 in Penticton.

“For Kelowna, we only had 8.2 millimetres recorded. The normal would have been 31 mm," said Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee.

Vernon received 7.9 mm of precipitation, far below the average of 37.4 mm.

Penticton received 5.9 mm with a typical January getting 26.9 mm.

Lee said a persistent high-pressure system pushed snowfall away from the Interior for most of the month.

“Ridges of high pressure usually bring us our sunny weather and dry conditions. With that ridge of high pressure more in the south of B.C., it actually deflected a lot of the storm tracks to more northern B.C. and into Yukon. And that’s why we saw a deficit in precipitation,” he explained.

As for temperatures, it was a tale of two halves. The first part of the month was at normal or slightly above, but it was much cooler at the end of January.

The mean temperature (the average of daytime highs and nighttime lows) was -1 C in Penticton, compared to a normal of -0.6 C.

“Kelowna, we saw -1 C and then the normal would have been -1.2 C. And then Vernon, we saw a mean temperature of -1.6 C and the normal would have been colder at -3.9 C. So we did trend a little bit warmer in Vernon by two degrees or so,” said Lee.

He points out that the snowfall in the forecast for the next few days will be short-lived and it’s expected to continue to be cold and dry well into February.

While this is typically a dry time of year in the Okanagan, the lack of moisture to start 2025 is likely to cause anxiety about what kind of summer lies ahead.



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