Change in forecast: It’s going to be a hot, hot weekend

Summer hasn’t given up on the B.C. interior yet as Environment Canada says to get ready for some hot weather this weekend.

The forecast has changed from earlier in the week and Kamloops and the Okanagan valley are expected to sizzle this weekend following a week of tricky weather forecasting.

Environment Canada meteorologist Carmen Hartt says a high pressure ridge has been gaining momentum throughout the week and is poised to bring some hot weather – though not record-breaking – to the region.

“It looks like that ridge is building stronger than predicted the last couple of days, which means an opportunity for more heat,” she says.

Weekend highs have risen a few degrees from yesterday's forecast for both Kamloops and the Okanagan.

Temperatures on Saturday and Sunday are expected to hit the mid-30s, in both the Thompson and Okanagan valleys on Saturday and Sunday, but Hartt says at this point the daily highs and lows are not quite in heat warning territory.

“We’re really just flirting with the warning criteria. We would need three consecutive temperatures of a 35 Celsius daytime high, an overnight low of 18 C and another 35 C high. At this point there is a chance we might see the warning, we’ll be so close,” she says.

Today, a high of 28 to 30 C is expected in the Okanagan, 30 C in Kamloops.

Saturday should see 33 C highs in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton, and a high of 34 C in Kamloops.

The hottest day is anticipated to be Sunday, when it should reach a high of 34 C in the Okanagan and 37 C in Kamloops.

The heat is expected to continue into midweek next week.

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