Grey skies, showers and flurries for the Okanagan this week

With temperatures expected to sit around the freezing mark this week, Okanagan residents can expect to see a lot of grey skies with snow and rain likely.

“It’s a weird pattern with a westerly flow that is bringing temperatures so close to zero we could see rain or snow, a little bit of everything,” Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says.

He says the precipitation could fall as rain or snow depending on the time of day this week, as temperatures hover around or a couple of degrees above freezing.

“There are two modes this time of year, either we’re really cold or just a bit above freezing, and it seems we’re in that little above freezing pattern,” he says. “People need to be aware of being cautious driving in this type of weather pattern, as things can freeze overnight, and roads are subject to suddenly changing conditions."

The forecast calls for a cloudy day today, Dec. 2, in the Okanagan with a 30 per cent chance of flurries and a south wind at 20 km/h. Today’s temperature should remain steady at 0 Celsius in Kelowna, -1 in Vernon and 1 C in Penticton with a windchill of -9 C.

Tonight should see cloudy conditions with a 70 per cent chance of flurries this evening in Kelowna, periods of snow expected in Vernon and a 40 percent chance of flurries or rain showers in Penticton.

Temperatures should remain steady around -2 C in Vernon, 0 C in Kelowna and 1 C in Penticton, with a windchill of around -8 C.

On Tuesday in the Okanagan, you can expect mainly cloudy skies with a 30 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon. The snow level is expected to drop to 1,000 metres with the wind becoming south at 20 km/h gusting to 40 in the afternoon. Tuesday’s high should reach 4 C in Vernon and Penticton, 5 C in Kelowna, with a low of 2 C overnight in all three cities.

Tuesday night should see cloudy skies and a 70 per cent chance of rain showers.

The clouds should continue into Wednesday with a 60 per cent chance of showers and a high of 3 C. The clouds will linger overnight with a low to -2 C.

Thursday should see a mix of sun and cloud with a high of 0 C and a low of -1 C.

The clouds return Friday along with a 40 per cent chance of flurries or rain showers and a high of 3 C. There is a 40 per cent chance of flurries into Friday evening along with a low of -1 C.

Cloudy conditions are also expected this weekend with a 30 per cent chance of flurries on Saturday along with a high of 2 C and a low of -2 C.

It’s expected to be cloudy on Sunday with a high of 2 C.

Normal temperatures at this time of year in the Okanagan are highs of 0 C and lows of -6 C.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.