Okanagan drought rating still at the low end of the scale

Aug 7, 2025 | 10:57 AM

The regional drought rating remains low risk for the second straight week.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre’s Drought rating release Thursday, August 7, indicated the Okanagan was at Drought Level 1.

This is the second straight week at that rating, which indicates conditions are “abnormally dry” but are not considered severe.

The rating comes as Vernon had an average daytime high of 30.1 degrees, while Kelowna’s was 30 between July 31 and August 6. Vernon also saw 10.7 milimetres of precipitation during that period, while Kelowna saw 8.5 mm of rainfall, according to Environment Canada.

The River Forecast Centre did say in the most recent report that “drought persists across much of the province, as recent rainfall was largely localized and brought minimal widespread relief.”

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The agency also added that flows in the Salmon River near Salmon Arm “remain at risk to aquatic ecosystems,” adding high stream temperatures have also “created a thermal barrier in the section of the Okanagan River south of the border, impacting salmon migration.”

Elsewhere in the Southern Interior, the Similakameen remained at Level 4 for the fourth straight week. That is the second-highest level of the drought severity scale, and the highest rating of any basin in B.C.

The Nicola area remained at Level 3 for the fifth consecutive week, and the Bridge region held steady at Level 2 for the third straight week.

The Lower, North and South Thompson areas were all at Level 1 for either the third or fourth week in a row as of the latest report.

The River Forecast Centre did state that much of B.C. was expected to see wetter, cooler wetter Thursday and Friday, though that was expected to transition to more seasonal weather in the days to follow.

by Liam Verster

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