Okanagan
UPDATE: Power restored after storm cut off thousands of residents
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Power has been restored to most customers in the Thompson-Okanagan following widespread outages affecting over 16,000 customers at their peak. Sabrina Locicero with B.C. Hydro says power in the Thompson-Okanagan and Shuswap regions is back on for the vast majority of customers. Only ten customers remained without power as of Friday morning. B.C. Hydro...
Intense storm dropped record rain at rapid rate
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several rainfall records were broken Wednesday but a local meteorologist says it is the rate of the rainfall that is the big story. “A record rain doesn’t really tell the story, the real story is the speed which it came out of the clouds,” Doug Lundquist of Environment Canada says. “You can have...
Will we have a white Christmas?
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The halls are decked, the trees are trimmed and the presents are wrapped, or at least bought, or at least thought of, but it doesn’t really feel like Christmas until there’s snow on the ground. But will Mother Nature cooperate? Right now, it’s not looking so good. With Environment Canada forecasting above normal...
Police seek information in bizarre Kelowna handgun incident
KELOWNA - Police are looking for a man who allegedly pointed a gun at a pair of Okanagan residents and then offered to help them change a tire. The strange incident happened Nov. 4 around 12:30 a.m. at the Willow Park Church parking lot at 439 Highway 33, states a release from the Kelowna RCMP....
Okanagan Indian Band opposes rail corridor sale
BUYER BEWARE: BAND SAYS NO CLEAR TITLE ON RAIL CORRIDOR VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is speaking out against a recent deal between Okanagan municipalities and CN Rail to buy the decomissioned rail line between Vernon and Kelowna. Chief Byron Louis said Tuesday the band is advancing a land claim for the Commonage Reserve,...
So you want to be a wildland firefighter?
NOW IS THE TIME TO APPLY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The wildfire season is just barely over but the provincial branch responsible for protecting us from wildfires is already getting prepared for next year. This past year crews attended nearly 350 fires, which burned a total of more than 3,800 hectares, in just the Kamloops centre. Across...
Third day of record highs in Interior
COOL DOWN BEGINS THOMPSON- OKANAGAN - For the third day in a row more high temperatures records were set in the region Thursday. According to temperatures recorded by Environment Canada Vernon set a new record with a high of 12.6 Celsius Thursday, more than three degrees higher than the previous record set in 1939, and...
More weather records broken in Interior
BACK TO NORMALS BY SUNDAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As temperatures soared as high as 15 degrees above seasonal normals more weather records were broken across the region Wednesday. According to Environment Canada, temperatures reached 15.6 Celsius in Kamloops Wednesday, nearly three degrees higher than the previous record for the second day in a row, while Vernon...
HELSTON: What a young Vernon artist showed us all this week
Marie-Anna Michaud didn’t start rinsing paint off a vandalized mural because she was disturbed by the obscenities scrawled there. She didn’t do it to right a wrong, and she didn’t do it out of anger for the perpetrators. No one asked or paid her to do it. Her act of kindness came as a surprise...
IH secures enough flu vaccine to open postponed clinics
OKANAGAN - Some flu clinics postponed last week have been rescheduled now that Interior Health has secured enough vaccine. An additional 10,000 doses of influenza vaccine means IH can open their doors for public flu clinics starting next week. There are multiple options for those seeking the jab. Kelowna – The December 15 public drop-in...
Weather record set in Kamloops, Okanagan communities just shy
COULD BE ANOTHER RECORD DAY IN INTERIOR THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Kamloops was among a handful of B.C. communities to set new weather records as temperatures soared to above 14 Celsius Tuesday. According to Environment Canada Kamloops reached a high of 14.2 C Tuesday, 3.6 degrees higher than the previous record that was set in 1896. Today...
Freezing rain, warm temperatures in forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than a week of below normal temperatures we finally climbed above 0 Celsius this weekend, and temperatures will continue to warm up over the next few days. Over the past 10 days we went from a heavy snowfall to well below normal temperatures and then this weekend to a couple days...
Self harm among Okanagan youth higher than rest of province
OKANAGAN – The results of a province-wide survey on the health of B.C. adolescents shows that young people in the Okanagan are more likely to participate in activities that risk their health than teens in the rest of the province. The study was conducted by the McCreary Centre Society and looked at survey responses from...
Police searching for missing 15-year-old boy
VERNON - Police need help finding a 15-year-old boy who went missing from his home a few weeks ago. Dalton James Prasloski-Spencer has indicated he's ok through social media, but his family and police are very worried about his well-being, according to an RCMP media release. He has a history of choosing a high-risk lifestyle....
UPDATE: Slow down on the highway and watch your step; freezing rain warning issued
WARNING ENDED FOR CENTRAL OKANAGAN THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Ice is building up on highways, city streets and sidewalks thanks to freezing rain in parts of the Thompson-Okanagan region Saturday. Environment Canada has continued a freezing rain warning for the South Thompson including Kamloops, the Nicola including Merritt, the Shuswap including Salmon Arm, and the North Okanagan...