Warm fall, mild winter in long-range forecast

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Look for a hotter, drier fall across the Southern Interior if AccuWeather’s long-range fall forecast holds true.

Issued by AccuWeather’s global weather centre, the forecast says a stubborn high pressure system anchored over the West coast and abnormally warm water over the north-eastern Pacific have kept the weather warm and dry.

This is expected to be the dominant weather pattern this fall as Pacific storms and Arctic fronts are steered away from the region.

The Southern Interior can expect more than the usual number of hot weather days in excess of 30 C into mid-October.

Most of Southern B.C. is already under a level four drought advisory.

AccuWeather is predicting a late start to the 2015-16 ski season in Western Canada because of a lack of late-autumn snow and sustained cold.

The El Nino weather system currently over the equatorial Pacific is expected to be one of the strongest on record and will start to be felt in Canada in late fall.

Strong El Nino systems normally produce unusually mild winters across Western Canada.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.