March nearly the wettest on record for Vernon, Kelowna

Apr 9, 2025 | 3:00 PM

This past March nearly broke precipitation records in Vernon and Kelowna, thanks mainly to one rainy day.

Colin Fong, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, told Vernon Matters that near record precipitation levels were recorded locally last month.

“For the month of March, 2025, Vernon saw 53 millimetres,” Fong said.

“The normal for March in Vernon is 25, so 53 versus the normal of 25 we saw just a shade over double what’s expected in March.

“That 53 mm in Vernon was ranked fifth all time since records started back in 1903. So it was the fifth wettest March on record. Just for context, the all-time monthly record is 64 mm in 1903.”

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Fong noted the last time Vernon recorded 53 mm of precipitation in March was in 2017.

Kelowna also had near-record precipitation during the month in question.

“We saw 50 mm [in Kelowna], and the normal is 22 mm,” Fong said.

“So again just a shade over double the amount, and that was ranked as [second wettest] all time. The single [wettest] monthly record for Kelowna was 78 mm, and that was again in 1903.”

The meteorologist stated the majority of that rain came from one day in particular.

“[On] March 13, Vernon got 24 mm. When you compare that with the [monthly] normal, we pretty much got our normal all in that one day,” Fong told Vernon Matters.

“In Kelowna we got 21 mm [on March 13], which again is pretty much normal.”

He said the precipitation mainly came from a “very isolated band of showers” that brought rain to the Okanagan Valley.

The wet March also ended dry streaks for the Okanagan Valley. In March of 2024, Vernon had 11 mm of rain and Kelowna had 4 mm. In 2023 there was 6 mm and 5 mm of rainfall, respectively, with 25 mm and 16 mm falling in 2022.

Looking ahead, Fong expects more local showers in April, though could not say how much was expected or if it would affect the snowpacks and freshet flows.

The meteorologist added daily temperature records were broken locally on March 1.

That day, Vernon saw the mercury climb to 12.9 Celsius, with Kelowna’s temperature hitting 13.3 C. Those surpassed the previous highs on record of 12.5 C and 12.8 C respectively. The last March 1 daily high record in Vernon was set in 2013, while Kelowna’s was set in 1932.

Fong did note the monthly average was near normal temperatures for the Okanagan Valley.

by Liam Verster

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