Gellatly Bay in West Kelowna.
(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)
March 24, 2016 - 8:36 AM
OKANAGAN - Mother Nature and the Easter Bunny may not be seeing eye to eye this long weekend, but that shouldn’t keep you from enjoying the spring weather.
Environment Canada is calling for temperatures to be near the normal highs for this time of year, with highs of 10 Celsius to 13 C forecast for the long weekend. Overnight lows are also expected to be near the seasonal normal low of 0 C, with lows of -1 to 4 C in the forecast.
The weather office is calling for mainly cloudy skies today, March 24, with a chance of rain. The snow level is expected to be at 1,000 metres during the day and lowering overnight, which means some areas could also see flurries before morning. Winds are also expected to pick up this afternoon, with gusts up to 40 kilometres per hour expected in the North and Central Okanagan and up to 50 km/h in the South Okanagan.
The skies are expected to clear Friday morning and then a mix of sun and cloud is expected Saturday. The clouds will return Easter Sunday, along with another chance of rain while Easter Monday is expected to bring a mix of sun and cloud.
If you are looking to get in a few late season runs at the ski hill, expect hight temperatures ranging from -3 C today at Big White to 3 C at Silver Star on Saturday. A mix of sun and cloud is expected throughout the weekend with at least a chance of flurries most days.
Avalanche risk is still a real concern in the backcountry, with Avalanche Canada forecasting up to a considerable risk over the next couple of days. Fresh snow and strong winds have increased the danger and forecasters warn loose wet avalanches are possible as the day warms up.
If driving is in your plans, watch for debris on area highways as well as compact snow and slippery sections at higher elevations, where fresh snow and rain overnight have left conditions a bit slick.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2016