Following driest spring, June temperatures hotter than normal

Photo: Nicholas Johansen

The Okanagan's “wet season” has been anything but this year, and temperatures are expected to continue to rise through the rest of June.

Following the driest spring on record in both Kelowna and Vernon, temperatures are higher than average this month, causing concern about this year's wildfire season. The mercury is expected hit the 30s again this weekend, with high temperatures forecast to carry through next week.

“The hot coming up is not normal for June, that's more like a July kind of heat,” said Doug Lundquist, meteorologist for Environment Canada.

“We do get hot days here and there, we can have some really hot days in June, but not usually a week's worth of it.”

Temperatures generally stay in the mid-20s in the Okanagan through June, and Lundquist says the Okanagan's wet season usually runs through early July.

“We want to see the wet continue to Canada Day or a little later than that,” he said. “[There's] concern about the fact that we're not getting the rains that we usually need to get.”

The Okanagan saw some significant rain fall early this week, but Lundquist says it simply wasn't enough, adding “it doesn't take long for that to dry out."

“The wildfire folks are getting concerned, hugely concerned about it, and I am as well ... We're heading into the thunderstorm season, so any rain we get will usually come with thunderstorms and some days it can be dry lightning.”

Lundquist noted that there's a possibility of dry lightning showing up in B.C.'s Southern Interior on Saturday, although some showers may be possible as well.

“The more we prevent human-caused fires now ... we'll have less smoke throughout the year,” Lundquist said. “We can help ourselves by being more careful than ever.”

He also noted the importance of getting outside and enjoying the summer-like conditions.

“Our mental health will definitely benefit from getting the chance to enjoy the outdoors after a year of often being lockdown,” Lundquist said.