If you thought May was rainy in Kamloops and the Okanagan, get ready for June

It seems our collective memories are short when it comes to spring time rain in Kamloops and the Okanagan. You see, June is typically the rainiest month of the year.

Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon says June is the wettest month of the year in Kamloops, Penticton and Kelowna. Vernon gets the most rain of the year in the 31 days centred around June 10. On average, 46 millimetres of rain falls in Penticton in June, while 40 mm falls in Vernon, 37.4 mm in Kamloops and 33 mm in Kelowna.

The pre-summer weather pattern that brings a series of upper level lows across the province in the spring is responsible. The weather systems produce widespread rain and embedded convection thunderstorms in the B.C. Interior.

“June is usually a pretty wet month. It seems like agriculture relies on it, although an excessive amount of rain in late June isn’t good for Okanagan cherry crops,” Sekhon says.

"The June rains also mitigate summer wildfire risks."

Sekhon says it’s a weather pattern that generally sticks around until the first week of July.

This weekend’s weather is expected to potentially bring heavy rain, wind and lightning to the Okanagan and Thompson regions on Saturday, followed by a typical start to June with unsettled, showery conditions well into next week.

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