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More Okanagan heat expected after record-breaking April

A photo of a field of yellow wild flowers near Summerland taken on Sunday morning. Photo credit: Katrina Sopow

KELOWNA — April was a record-breaking month for heat in the valley.

“There were a number of days in the second half of April that were well above average,” says Global Okanagan meteorologist, Wesla Wong.

In Kelowna, there was a four-day stretch of record temperature days from April 18 to April 21, with temperatures between 27.4 degrees and 27.7 degrees, according to Environment Canada.

“The average temperature for the month blew away the old April record, so what were looking at for April of 2016 for Kelowna was 13 degrees. The [average temperature] record before that was 10.4 which was set in 1987,” says regional meteorologist Lisa Coldwells.
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Wong says the weather pattern causing the stretch of warm weather in April was caused by a large upper ridge.

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“[The] huge upper ridge that week brought in warm air. An upper ridge will block weather systems from moving into B.C.,” says Wong.

With a lack of rain in April, it was also the second-driest month on record, according to Coldwells, with last year marking the driest on record.

“In contrast to that […], the Okanagan Valley was one of the areas that had above normal snow pack over the winter, so there’s still a lot of snow up there on the mountains that’s available as it slowly melts and goes into the lake,” says Coldwells.

The weather pattern seen in April is a similar one to what we are seeing right now, according to Wong.

“Another upper ridge will build again on Friday bringing brighter and warmer conditions in the forecast for the end of the work week,” says Wong.

 

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