Cold and snowy heading toward the weekend in the Okanagan | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Penticton News

Cold and snowy heading toward the weekend in the Okanagan

Five to eight centimetres of snow could fall on the Okanagan valley today, with more snow expected Saturday.

The Arctic air experienced by Okanagan residents for most of this week will be accompanied by more snow between now and Saturday.

Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang says a couple of weather systems are heading for the Okanagan with the system today, Jan. 15, expected to drop the most snow. She says between five to 8 centimetres could fall with even more at higher elevations.

A second weather system expected Friday into Saturday morning could bring another two cm of snow to Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton.

“It doesn’t look as strong as the system moving through today,” Lang says.

"Arctic air has settled in, and any impulses, as we call them, coming in off the Pacific (Ocean) have a lot of moisture with them, but not enough to scour out the cold air. It takes a lot of energy to get rid of that really cold, heavy air that settles into the valleys."

Today’s system is expected to drop 30 to 40 cm on Vancouver, prompting travel advisories and gridlock.

Lang cautions motorists travelling on mountain passes to be aware of the possibility of much higher snowfall amounts expected on those upper elevation routes.

"If you do plan to travel be prepared for the road conditions and check DriveBC before you leave," Lang says.

Between two to four cm of snow could fall in Kelowna and Vernon before the snow comes to an end later today. Tonight’s temperature is expected to remain steady at -13 C.

In Penticton, two to four cm of snow is expected through this afternoon, with a high of -11 C. Another five cm of snow is expected overnight in Penticton with the temperature rising to -7 C by Thursday morning.

There is a risk of frostbite in the north and central Okanagan, with north winds at 20 km/h combining with a high temperature of -13 Celsius to create wind chills in the -22 C to -28 C range.

Cloudy conditions are expected Thursday with 15 km/h winds and  high to -8 C, -4 C in Penticton.

Thursday could see wind chills in the -11 C to -19 C range, with an overnight low of -13 C.

There is a 60 per cent chance of flurries in the forecast for Friday, with a high of -8 C and a low of -12 C.

Up to two cm of snow is expected Saturday as temperatures begin heading back to the freezing mark, wth a high of -5 C and a low of -7 C expected.


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