Penticton sets snowfall record for March 9; Kelowna and Kamloops come close

PENTICTON – Penticton has broken some unenviable weather records as the city bore the brunt of last night’s late season snowfall.

Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau says the 7.4 centimetres that fell on Penticton last night represented the daily record for the most snow on the ground as well as the record for heaviest snowfall on March 9 in the Peach City.

The previous daily record for March 9 in Penticton for most snow on the ground was set in 1969 when 5 cm was recorded.

The 7.4 cm that fell last night beats the previous record for the heaviest snowfall of 4.6 centimetres in 2003.

Charbonneau says last night’s snowfall doesn’t surpass the monthly record for most snowfall on one day in March in Penticton, which was set on March 16, 2002 when 11 centimetres blanketed the city.

Kamloops and Kelowna didn’t break records, but came close. Charbonneau says Kamloops received 4 cm yesterday, just short of the record 4.6 set in 2006. Kamloops already had their fair share of snow earlier this week when the city was hit with a snowstorm that brought a month’s worth of snow in just two hours.

Kelowna received 6 cm last night, short of the record 7 cm for that city on March 9.

Snowfall measurements for Vernon were not available.

Charbonneau is predicting some relief from what she refers to as “the winter that just won’t quit.”

She says the weather pattern is shifting to a more westerly flow with a series of frontal systems coming off the Pacific that are expected to bring moist, warm air into the Interior with temperatures expected to rise through the weekend and into next week.

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