Keeping hydrated is an important key to staying safe during extreme heat.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
June 28, 2013 - 10:58 AM
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – You asked, Mother Nature answered.
Extreme hot weather is expected to usher in July with the Canada Day forecast showing highs of 36 and 37 C across the Okanagan and leading Environment Canada to warn about high heat situations and how to stay safe when the mercury soars.
Doug Lundquist of Environment Canada says the sudden change in the forecast may be hard to believe but people should be prepared because the heat is coming.
“It's hard to believe the forecast,” he said Thursday, “it's hard to believe we can go from the cold, wet to hot.”
He says the forecast of mid to high 30s is probably a bit conservative given the monsoon season is set to end about a week early and the change is actually consistent with what has been seen in the Interior for 20-30 years.
“It is a significant transition, often like a switch flipping,” he said of the changing of seasons.
He says the possible record breaking weather means people need to stay safe by staying cool and keeping hydrated.
“We don't get a lot of humidity and in the heat we dry out very quickly.”
Lundquist also advises to never leave children or pets in a parked car, not even for more than a minute, as the heat rises very quickly in a parked vehicle even if the windows are rolled down a bit.
Lundquist expects many daily maximum temperature records will be set early next week but will moderate slightly starting on Thursday.
Most of the Okanagan will see highs hovering near 30 C today but by Tuesday temperatures will get as high as 38 C in Salmon Arm, 40 C in Kamloops and 39 C in Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon. All areas have a 30 to 40 per cent chance of rain on Saturday. Normals at this time of year are 25 degrees through most of the Okanagan though Kamloops normally sees highs of 27 degrees.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013