Spring was extremely dry in Kamloops and the Okanagan and records were set.
(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)
June 01, 2021 – 3:09 pm
Bone dry. This sentence sums up this year’s spring weather patterns in Kamloops and the Okanagan.
The lack of rain this spring broke records in the region and across the province.
Canadian meteorologist Doug Lundquist says Kelowna had the driest May ever, with just four millimeters of rainfall compared to the 40 mm that normally falls during the month. Vernon took fourth place at 10mm, compared to the 48mm the city usually gets.
The Kelowna records date back to 1969 while those of Vernon date back to 1900.
Penticton was also on the dry side, but not as much, with nine mm of rainfall versus the normal 39 mm. Kamloops hit a meager 6mm in May compared to the usual 27mm.
“Everyone had 10 to 20 percent of their normal rainfall in May. That’s so low, and overall spring was worse,” says Lundquist.
In meteorological terms, spring begins on March 1st and ends on May 31st. Lundquist says the region experienced three consecutive months with a similar drought pattern during this period.
“It’s rare to have similar weather for three months in a row, and we’ve had three very dry months,” he says.
Kelowna had the driest spring ever recorded between March 1st and May 31st, as did Vernon, which broke 117-year-old records.
Penticton was in the top 5 driest of all time and Kamloops was the second driest of all time.
The spring precipitation figures provided by Environment Canada (March 1 to May 31) are broken down into the Kamloops and Okanagan:
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Kelowna was 14mm compared to a normal 86mm
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Vernon was 18mm versus the normal 96mm
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Penticton was 29mm compared to the 89mm that normally falls
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Kamloops was 10 mm compared to an average of 54 mm
According to Lundquist, the numbers range from 15 to 33 percent of normal rainfall between the four cities.
Temperatures in May in the cities of Kamloops and Okanagan were more or less average.
In the spring, Kelowna was one degree above normal and Vernon was 0.9 degrees above normal. Penticton and Kamloops were close to the average for the period.
Lundquist says the “monsoon season” is almost half over for BC Interior with a week of warm weather.
“That means we’re three weeks into the season and only have four weeks left. We have almost half of the monsoon season with no moisture. We rely on this moisture to get us through the summer and we have had a record dry spring, ”says Lundquist.
The lack of moisture is provincial as Abbotsford and Victoria International Airport set records for the driest spring ever. Vancouver was the third driest.
Lundquist says the summer outlook for the next three months is above normal temperatures across the province, particularly in the southern interior. Environment Canada does not make long-term precipitation forecasts.
“The effects are very worrying. I know the people at BC Wildfire plan hard. I’ve talked to them. The water administration is concerned about the drought and the impact on agriculture, ”says Lundquist.
He says there is still hope of moisture through June, but that hope is fading.
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