White Christmas a reality for Okanagan, Kamloops; ‘perfect Christmas’ still a possibility

It’s going to be a 'white Christmas' in Kamloops and the Okanagan, with the possibility of a ‘perfect Christmas.’

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says a system making its way into the southern Interior from the coast is expected to produce snow in Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton, but for those looking for snow to fall on Christmas Day, timing will be everything.

“We may see snow sometime in the evening, after supper tomorrow. Merritt might be a little earlier,” he said. “It will be a perfect Boxing Day, but we think the snow may start to fall before midnight. I’m crossing my fingers it’s going to fall on Christmas Day, making it a perfect Christmas Day or evening.”

A white Christmas is defined in meteorological terms as one in which two or more centimetres of snow is on the ground.

A perfect Christmas is one where snow also falls Christmas Day.

Lundquist says there’s not much sign of any more snow in the forecast following Boxing Day for the remainder of 2020, although temperatures are expected to remain around the freezing mark.

“The forecast calls for temperatures a little above normal, with daytime highs around 0 C with overnight lows in the -5 C range. That’s a couple of degrees above average. It’s not Arctic air, but it is winter. I don’t expect a lot of snow in this pattern other than what falls late Christmas Day or Boxing Day,” Lundquist says.

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