(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
February 02, 2015 - 9:22 AM
SKI HILLS CELEBRATE
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - February kicked off much the same way January did, with a dump of snow.
In Kamloops the snow had mostly tapered off by noon on Sunday, Feb. 1 while in Kelowna a mix of snow and rain persisted into the early evening. Penticton had just a bit of snow on Sunday but a light rain also lasted for much of the morning and early afternoon.
The Coquihalla Summit received the most snow of any Interior highway pass, with 14 cm of the white stuff falling in the last day, while Pennask Summit and Albert Canyon were close behind with 9 cm and 8 cm. Most mountain passes also had a few millimetres of rainfall on Sunday. Drive B.C. reported several crashes on Sunday, including a fatal collision near Salmon Arm.
While the snow played havoc on highways and city roads the ski hills embraced it. At Big White 17 centimetres fell in 24 hours, the only snowfall the ski hill has received in the past week. Silver Star had 9 cm fall over the past 24 hours, for a total of 10 cm over the past week, and Sun Peaks had 10 cm in the past day, for a total of 12 cm in the last seven days.
According to Environment Canada temperatures will remain steady today at just above seasonal normals but will continue to warm up over the week, eventually reaching 11 C in Kamloops and 8 C in the rest of the Okanagan. A mix of snow or rain is expected throughout the region today and there is a chance of snow or rain throughout the Okanagan Tuesday as well.
The mix of snow and rain combined with warmed temperatures has the avalanche risk increasing slightly throughout the region as well. Avalanche Canada has increased the risk in the North and South Columbias and Glacier National Park to considerable at the alpine levels while the remaining Interior elevations are considered moderate.
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, 2015