(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
July 14, 2014 - 10:09 AM
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There is no doubt summer is officially here as record high temperatures fell like sweat droplets in 40 Celsius heat on the weekend.
Environment Canada says several communities broke weather records on Saturday, including Lillooet which had a high temperature of 39.7 C passing the 39.4 C recorded in 1926. Sunday also saw high temperature records broken in Lytton at 41.1 C, Lillooet at 40.6 C, Kamloops at 40.3 C, Kelowna at 37.9 C and Osoyoos at 40.0 C. While some records were only a couple of years old, the previous record in Kelowna was set nearly 60 years ago in 1955. Kamloops and Lytton broke records set in 1961.
Environment Canada did not list Kamloops for setting a record on Saturday, July 12 as the temperature soared to 39.3 C, even though a search of local weather stations showed a record high of only 38.6 from 2007. Vernon is in a similar situation for Sunday, July 13. The city is not listed as breaking a record with it's high of 38.6 C on Sunday, even though a search of stations showed a record high of only 36.1 C recorded in 1945 on that date.
More heat is predicted over the next couple days. While it will be hot, the forecast temperatures fall short of the high temperature records by a couple of degrees.
Kamloops is expected to be mostly cloudy and hit a high of 36 C Monday before climbing back up to 39 C for Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures are then expected to drop back down to seasonal normals near 28 C on Thursday.
Heading into the Okanagan, people in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton can all expect highs of 30 C with a good chance of showers and a risk of thunderstorms Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday will bring highs of 35 to 37 C before temperatures drop back down to 30 C on Thursday along with a chance of showers.
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, 2014