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Winter in the Okanagan is not over: Environment Canada

Cities in the region are projected to see temperatures below zero next week
28203833_web1_170630-BPD-M-Kelowna-skyline
Kelowna will be joined by a number of other Okanagan cities in a cooler shift of weather next week. (File)

If you thought winter was over in the Okanagan, think again.

After a week of warmer than usual weather in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm, Environment Canada is projecting more “winter-like” temperatures starting next Tuesday (Feb. 22).

“Cooler air from the north will start trickling down into the province and that should be lingering until mid-week next week,” said Derek Lee, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“It’s going to be much cooler than what we are experiencing this week.”

All four aforementioned Okanagan cities are projected to see lows of -7 C next Tuesday.

The colder temperatures don’t come as a surprise to Lee, who told Black Press on Thursday (Feb. 17) that the sudden weather change is more of a return to normal.

“This week we are at an anomaly, these temperatures are definitely warmer than our average temperatures (for this season).”

Despite the indications of an Okanagan-wide temperature shift from Environment Canada, Lee is predicting next week’s weather to only be “slightly cooler.”

As of Feb. 17, cities in B.C.’s Interior are projected to see highs that are only two or three degrees lower than the normal averages for this month.

Still, the unusually warm weather for February might be a thing of the past once Tuesday comes around.

“It really depends on how much of that cold air really comes down to the Southern Interior where those cold temperatures would stay for a while,” Lee explained.

“But compared to this week, it would be much cooler.”

READ MORE: Okanagan’s extreme weather patterns difficult to escape, meteorologist says

READ MORE: Meteorologist looks back at extreme heat in June: ‘Worst weather event of my career’


@lgllockhart
logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com

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