Poor Month For Rain in Vernon and Kelowna

May 31, 2019 | 12:41 PM

It’s been another dry month in the Okanagan and the summer is predicted to have above normal temperatures.

Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan says Vernon had less than half of its expected May rain, with only 19.9 millimetres falling compared to the usual 47.8 millimetres.

Both Vernon and Kelowna saw just 42 percent of the normal rainfall for May.

Kelowna had 17 millimetres of rain fall, compared to the usual 40.2 mm.

“All of the province was very warm and dry,” says Castellan, although he added the May weather was not as dramatic as last year’s at the same time.

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He says Vernon’s temperature was 2.4 above normal this past month, the fifth warmest May, with records going back to 1900.

The summer is expected to have above normal temperatures across the province, says Castellan.

“The temperature forecast is of high probablilities, so we’re talking of 80 per cent chance, that June, July and August will be above normal,” he says.

“We’re talking about from .5 degrees to 2 degrees warmer…being two degrees above normal would probably rank you as the warmest on record so it doesn’t sound like much but it’s quite a lot.
We’re bracing for a warmer than normal season across the board, particulary for the northwest and the coast of B.C.

Castellan says there is a 70-to-80 percent chance of above normal temperatures in the Okanagan this summer.

by Kate Bouey