FILE PHOTO - This photo was taken on Okanagan Lake in Vernon towards the end of October, 2020.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

This is the time of year when snow hits higher elevations on a regular basis and can even descend to valley bottoms in the Thompson-Okanagan on any chilly damp night.

The most likely time to see the first real snowfall this season looks to be Friday morning.

“It depends on how clear it is the night before,” Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist told iNFOnews.ca today, Nov. 8. “Thursday, we’re forecasting sunny. If it cools down enough and it starts in the middle of the night, that tends to collect more snow than if the clouds come in earlier and keep it warm.”

That could mean a centimetre or two near the shores of Okanagan and other lakes, mostly on the grass, he said. Moving inland, snow could accumulate up to five centimetres, with maybe 10 centimetres on ski hills and in mountain passes.

READ MORE: The under-appreciated weather phenomenon that makes for mild winters in Kamloops, Okanagan

But, at least at low elevations, it’s not likely to last long.

“We’re forecasting temperatures of six or seven Celsius over the weekend, so it’s not the kind of thing that’s going to stick at low elevations,” Lundquist said.

He doesn’t seen any big weather systems in the next couple of weeks that could bring significant or sustained snow, just a series of ridges that can bring a bit of snow for a couple of days at lower elevations.

Expect snowfall warnings for mountain passes every few days as the fall progresses, he said.

The Environment Canada forecast shows highs of 8 C to 10 C today through Wednesday before dropping to 4 C on Thursday in the Okanagan, 3 C in Kamloops.

Thursday morning should somewhere between -2 C to -3 C.

Both Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be sunny before it clouds over Thursday night.

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