Rainy long weekend forecast after a very dry August for Okanagan, Kamloops

Rain is in the forecast for some of the Labour Day weekend after August was considerably drier than normal.

Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Morgen Shull said the entire Southern Interior will likely see partly cloudy skies and showers on Saturday moving into Sunday, although Kamloops will likely be spared most of the precipitation on Sunday.

Along with the rain, there is a risk of thunderstorms.

Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton are all looking at a daytime highs of 21 Celsius on Saturday and 23 C on Sunday, a degree or two cooler than average. 

Kamloops will be a touch warmer, with temperatures forecast for 22 C on Saturday and 25 C on Sunday.

It’s in stark contrast to the same weekend last year, when temperatures in the Okanagan sat between 29 C and 27 C.

It’s also in stark contrast to August, which saw higher-than-average temperatures across the region and significantly less rainfall.

The mean temperature in Kelowna in August was 22 C, a degree and a half higher than the average at 20.4 C. While it doesn’t sound like much, in meteorological terms it’s considered “significant,” Shull said.

Penticton and Kamloops were roughly half a degree warmer than normal, while Vernon was 1.8 C above normal.

It was clearly very dry across the entire Southern Interior, with less rain falling in August than average.

Kamloops saw the biggest impact, getting just 23% of its normal level of precipitation. Kelowna got 37% of its normal rainfall and Penticton got 42%.

Vernon fared a little better, but still only got 68% of its monthly average rainfall.