Brace for strong winds in the Okanagan, Kamloops today

Kamloops and Okanagan residents should prepare themselves for some windy conditions later today.

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says the South Okanagan will likely bear the brunt of an approaching Pacific system that is expected to produce winds up to 80 km/h in Penticton this afternoon, Jan. 5, and evening.

The winds will be from the south at 30 km/h gusting to 50 this afternoon in Kelowna and Vernon, while Penticton could see wind gusts up to 80 km/h this afternoon. Kamloops is in for winds gusting from 40 to 60 km/h beginning late this morning.

READ MORE: Wind, rain, snowfall warnings posted as storm hammers most of coastal B.C.

“Watch for wind warnings in the South Okanagan. Lytton could also see a wind warning issued. South winds are pretty normal for Penticton, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some local impacts with hydro outages and downed trees this afternoon,” Lundquist says.

The winds should begin to die down around midnight.

He doesn’t think there will be a lot of precipitation associated with the system, which is bringing some warm temperatures to Kamloops and the Okanagan.

Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops could all see highs of 6 Celsius tomorrow, Jan. 6, with parts of the Thompson region possibly approaching 10 C.

Normal daytime high temperatures for Kamloops and the Okanagan are around -2 C for early January.

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