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(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

The Thompson-Okanagan continues to fall far below normal levels of precipitation in 2023.

Since November, Kelowna has been the driest of the major cities in the region.

As of the end of July it had only 141 mm of precipitation. That’s 44% of the normal 317 mm for that time period. At the end of June Kelowna was at 46.7% of normal.

In July, 8.6 mm of rain fell and the average high temperature was 31.3 Celsius.

The other major cities in the Thompson-Okanagan also had average temperatures of more than 31 C in July but that is far short of the highest temperatures on record.

READ MORE: With snowpack in Okanagan gone, drought level on the rise

In July, the Okanagan Basin Water Board declared the region in a Level 3 drought, on a scale of five.

Since November, the other centres in the region have not been quite as dry as Kelowna.

Kamloops dropped to 68% of normal over the past nine months from 75.4% at the end of June. It recorded 140 mm of precipitation in that time period compared to a normal of 205 mm.

It recorded 9.3 mm of rain in July and had an average high temperature of 31.9 C.

Vernon dropped to 57% of normal from 61.8% in June, with 212 mm of precipitation since November compared to a normal of 371 mm.

In July, 7.7 mm of rain fell in Vernon and the average daily high temperature was 31.2 C.

Only 1 mm of rain fell in Penticton in July. That dropped the city to 57% of normal from 74.2% of normal at the end of June.

Penticton had 178 mm of precipitation over the past nine months, aided largely by a wetter than normal May where 47.2 mm of rain fell. Normally, for the nine-month period, it gets 267 mm of rain.

The average daily high temperature in Penticton in July was 31.5 C.

“August is going to stay mainly dry and warm into the second week,” Environment Canada meteorologist Yimvi Lee told iNFOnews.ca. “The probability of temperatures being above normal is 35%.”

While it’s harder to forecast temperatures for the last two weeks of summer, it’s looking to still be warmer than normal.

No rain is forecast for the next week although there is a slight chance of some precipitation on the weekend, Lee said.

High temperatures should be above 30 C through Monday, peaking at 36 C on Sunday in Kamloops and 34 C in the Okanagan.

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