Mix of sun and slush forecast for Kamloops, Okanagan this weekend

Okanagan residents who thought spring was here had a rude awakening this week when they saw several inches of snow on Thursday.

The snow is gone now but the forecast shows a pattern of intermittent snow and rain for Kamloops and the Okanagan heading into next week.

Environment Canada meteorologist Derek Lee said people can expect some slush this weekend, but next week ought to be sunnier.

“For the weekend coming up it looks like Friday night and into Saturday morning we may get a chance to see some snow activity in the area for both Kamloops and down to the Okanagan. What we’re looking at for the valley bottoms is maybe a local two centimetres and a little bit higher over the higher terrain, maybe up to 4 cm,” he said.

Kamloops hasn’t seen the snow the Okanagan has, but it could have some in the coming days.

The forecasted highs for Kamloops heading into next week are around 10 Celsius and the lows are around 0 C. There is a chance of showers or flurries on Saturday with overnight temperature potentially dropping to -3 C.

Most of the Okanagan is expecting similar weather this week with lows between -1 C and 2 C and highs from 7 C rising to 11 C this weekend with temperatures rising a bit as the sun comes out next week. This weekend has a chance of showers and maybe some flurries on Saturday.

Skiers and snowboarders shouldn’t worry since ski hills in Kamloops and the Okanagan are expecting a dusting.

“It’s a good chance that ski hills will see some kind of sprinkling but it’s not that much in terms of amounts,” he said.

Mountain pass drivers should always be wary of changing conditions with the Coquihalla Highway expecting 2 to 4 cm Saturday night and Okanagan Connector could get some light snow.