A warm week is in store for the Okanagan with rising snow levels until Friday, when a cooling trend will return temperatures to more seasonal norms.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

OKANAGAN - Okanagan residents can expect more balmy days before seasonal temperatures return to the valley late in the week.

Daytime highs are expected at around eight degrees higher than normal for this time of year until Thursday. A change is expected to bring a drop in temperatures on Friday, Dec. 21, the first official day of winter.

Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald says so far December had been "incredibly mild and dry" with temperatures trending about three degrees above seasonal normals.

Kamloops set a daily high temperature record of 10.5 Celsius on Friday, Dec. 14, breaking the old record set way back in 1890.

MacDonald says the warm air is expected to be replaced by a cooling trend that will return the valley to near normal temperatures for the remainder of the month.

For residents wishing for a white Christmas, Macdonald says the long range forecast hints at a possibility of some snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

For today, Dec. 17, the Okanagan should see a mix of sun and cloud with south winds at 20 gusting to 40 km/h and a high of 6 C.

Tomorrow will see a 60 per cent chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon with a south wind at 20 gusting to 40 km/h. Temperatures are expected to remain steady at 5 C tomorrow with an overnight low of 2 C.

The forecast for Wednesday calls for a mainly sunny day with a high of 7 C and a low of 1 C.

Showers return Thursday with a high of 5 C, giving way to clearing skies on the first official day of winter on Friday with the daytime high dropping to 3 C and a low of -4 C.

Normal temperatures at this time of year in the Okanagan are highs of around -2 C and lows of about -7 C.

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