How a polar vortex will impact winter in Okanagan, Kamloops

It has been a relatively balmy fall for Kamloops and the Okanagan, but some meteorologists are anticipating a colder than usual winter. 

The Weather Network has released its annual winter forecast and it puts Kamloops and the Okanagan on the edge of a polar vortex which promises to bring in a cold start to the winter.

Kelowna and Kamloops can expect a colder than normal winter weather pattern.

Penticton is expected to see a near normal winter for temperatures and forecasters think Vernon is going to be colder than normal.

Along with colder temperatures, the Weather Network’s forecasters are expecting more snowfall in the Interior from the Okanagan to the Alberta border.

Kamloops is on the edge, but forecasters are anticipating a normal amount of snow around the city.

Heavier snowfall would be good news for ski hills that have delayed opening due to a lack of snow so far this year. 

This year’s La Nina winter and a disrupted polar vortex coming south could spell a tough winter for the B.C. Interior, but forecasters aren’t sure whether colder temperatures will persist into February.

The polar vortex is a system of strong winds circling up to 50 kilometres above the Arctic that keep frigid air locked near the poles. A period of surging temperatures in that part of the atmosphere is expected to disrupt the vortex and spill that cold out over Canada in December and January.

In Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon, temperatures are expected to start dropping this weekend with a daytime high of 0 Celsius and an overnight low of -4 C over this coming weekend. Temperatures are expected to be a degree warmer in Kamloops.

There isn’t any significant snow in the forecast at lower elevations, but mountain passes on the Coquihalla Highway and Okanagan Connector are expecting up to 10 centimetres of snow on Thursday.

— With files from The Canadian Press