Okanagan

UPDATE: SNOWED IN: Weather wreaks havoc on roads, power

SNOWFALL WARNING ISSUED FOR NORTH THOMPSON THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Heavy snow has fallen throughout the region and another 25 centimetres is expected in the North Thompson and Columbia regions by Thursday morning, though the snow will change to rain late tonight or Thursday morning in the more southern regions. While parts of the region struggle with...

Heavy snow continues on Coquihalla, 97C

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Mother Nature seems determined to let us know we are well on our way to winter with yet another round of heavy snow expected to hit area highways today. The system currently over the Interior will continue to drop heavy snow on mountain passes through tonight though the snow will start to mix...

Dierks Bentley headlining in Merritt

MERRITT - Country star Dierks Bentley is the first big act to sign up for Riverfest 2015 in Merritt. Bentley recently released his eighth album, Riser, featuring hit singles I Hold On and Drunk On A Plane. The award-winning star is the first act signed to the music festival, which will run July 30 through...

Heavy snow to continue on highways

NEAR-RECORD HIGHS EXPECTED MID-WEEK THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are hitting the highways today, beware: Warnings of compact snow and slippery sections have been issued for many areas and more than 30 centimetres has fallen on several mountain passes over the past few days. Now another 15 cm is being forecast over the next 24 hours...

Heavy snow hitting the highways

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you plan to head out on the highways this weekend make sure you have your brain switched to winter driving. Several Interior highways are already covered with compact snow and slushy sections and another 20 centimetres of snow is expected by Saturday morning. A system heading over the Interior will bring heavy...

Ski season begins this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are the kind of person who dreams in white, longs for the feeling of cold wind whipping your face and lives for snow days — you are in luck. Opening day at area ski hills is nearly here. Beginning this Saturday, ski resorts around the province will begin to open. Sun...

Snow hits Kamloops, forecast for Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Snow has already fallen in Kamloops this morning and more is on the way as a system moving through the region warms the air. A light snow and temperatures hovering near the freezing mark have led to multiple crashes in the city and Kamloops RCMP asking drivers to slow down and drive for...

Penticton, Kelowna renters spending nearly 30% of income on housing

KAMLOOPS, VERNON NOT MUCH BETTER THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A new study shows people renting in the region are spending, on average, 24-29 per cent of their income on rent and utilities, putting the rental landscape in the poor to severe category. The B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association released the Rental Housing Index, in partnership with Vancity Credit...

Snow heading to town

SYSTEM COULD CLEAR SMOKE FROM AIR THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Snow has already been accumulating on some highway passes and this week we may see some of the white stuff hit valley bottoms as a system moves over the region. Environment Canada is calling for warming temperatures through the weekend as cloud cover moves in. Highs of...

Set your alarm clocks, Leonid meteor shower peaking

TUESDAY MORNING SHOW IF CLOUDS KEEP AWAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the clouds part and the smoke clears, we could be in for a great showing of the Leonid meteor shower early Tuesday morning. While the moon, currently in the waning crescent phase, is not expected to interfere with viewing the storm, increasing cloudiness overnight could...

Interior Health employee investigated for alleged sexual assault of ‘vulnerable’ resident

NOT THE FIRST ALLEGATION: POLICE VERNON - Interior Heath Authority is reviewing an employee who was investigated by police for an allegation of sexual assault on a 'vulnerable' care facility resident. Interior Health informed police of the allegations in July 2014 but the incident happened some time before. Vernon RCMP says interior health didn't report...

Air quality advisory remains in place

WAITING ON THE WEATHER TO CHANGE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It is mid-November and yes, that is smoke in the air. Unlike the summer when large wildfires in northern B.C. caused air quality advisories the smoke visible throughout the region is due to open burning. “There are hundreds of burn registrations issued,” Kayla Pepper of B.C. Wildfire...

Top Gear to film in the Okanagan

PENTICTON - Local fans of the British television show Top Gear will be happy to know the series will be shooting highway footage in the South Okanagan and Boundary regions for the popular show. Filming begins in the latter part of November, according to a media release from the Okanagan Film Commission. The group in...

Break in cold snap around the corner

WILL STAY BELOW ZERO A FEW MORE DAYS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After a few days of sub-zero temperatures everyone is looking for a break, but we still have a few more days of staying below zero before it will finally begin to warm up again. Through the Okanagan temperatures only rose to -0.2 Celsius in Penticton...

Vernon council backs down from golf course water rate hike

VERNON – Golf courses who buy reclaimed or grey water from the City of Vernon to irrigate won’t be gouged with an almost doubling of rates after all. City councillors voted unanimously this week to freeze the rates for spray irrigation at 2013 levels. Representatives from the local golf courses pleaded with the councillors at...

Snow possible as cold front moves in

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An Arctic mass of cold air is moving over the region bringing cold temperatures to the region, and as cold as it will get, we still will not be hitting record low temperatures. Temperatures will reach overnight lows of down to -11 Celsius over the next several days but that is nowhere near...

Bundle up: Cold Arctic air on its way

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Winter is coming our way with a vengence as cold Arctic air rushes into the Southern Interior on Monday. Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement warning temperatures throughout the Okanagan and South Thompson will be five to ten degrees below seasonal normals. Forecasters say by Tuesday, daytime highs will be below...

Water board has money to give away

KELOWNA – There is another $300,000 up for grabs for those who need money to fund a project to save water or improve its quality in the Okanagan in 2015. The Okanagan Basin Water Board is back with its Water Conservation and Quality Improvement grant program. It’s the ninth year for the program. The cash...

Okanagan Regional Library axes service in some communities

OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Regional Library has already cut services at some branches, and more are on the chopping block. It’s all part of a process to improve equity at the regional library’s 29 service locations, after a financial audit found some discrepancies. Some branches, including those in West Kelowna, the City of Kelowna, the...

Snow accumulating on TransCanada

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you needed proof winter is coming, you need not look further than Rogers Pass, where the snow is beginning to stick around. Over the past day more than a centimetre has fallen in Albert Canyon between Glacier National Park and Mt. Revelstoke National Park, with even more falling at the higher elevations...

Poppy campaign is underway

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The annual poppy campaign began on Halloween and runs until Remembrance Day. Every year legions around the country sell poppies, the international symbol of remembrance, from the last Friday in October through to Nov. 11. Cadets, veterans and volunteers will be out in the community peddling poppies and donation boxes are going up...

Okanagan sex offender arrested on outstanding warrants

TWO MEN ARRESTED UNDER B.C. FUGITIVE RETURN PROGRAM THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A man convicted of sexual touching in a Penticton court last summer has been arrested by Kamloops RCMP and returned to Ontario on outstanding warrants, while another man with outstanding warrants stemming from an alleged domestic incident was arrested in the North Okanagan and returned...

Ghosts of the Southern Interior

FROM ALBERT OF SAGEBRUSH TO LOYD OF TOWNE THEATRE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If spooky is what you are after this Halloween you are in luck, the region is ripe with ghosts and haunted houses sure to make your hair stand on end. In Kamloops, one of the most famous haunted buildings is Padova, the old sanatorium...

No treats from Mother Nature this Halloween

ENVIRONMENT CANADA PREDICTS AN UMBRELLA IS IN YOUR FUTURE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If makeup is part of your Halloween costume you may want to come up with a plan ‘B’ as it looks like Mother Nature will not be doling out any weather treats Friday. The forecast calls for cool temperatures and rain. The rain forecast...