Mild and dry weather causing concerns among Okanagan fruit growers

It’s been an unseasonably warm and mild winter across Canada, and B.C.’s Interior has not been exempt.

The Okanagan is well into the winter season and there’s still no snow on the valley bottom.

Temperatures are warmer than usual, and according to fruit growers, those conditions have put them in a tough position heading into the growing season.

The warmer weather is forcing farmers to irrigate more, however, ongoing drought is creating issues.

“We went into a drought in November, super mild and dry, and now going into the spring we rely on the snowpack to fill up our reservoirs for our irrigation water,” said Mani Gill, the owner of Gill Family Orchards.

“If those are low then we have less water as farmers to irrigate our lawn.”

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With reservoir levels being so low, there are concerns, but according to the City of Kelowna, it’s not enough to implement restrictions.

“We would try starting now to advise people that we are keeping an eye on the water levels and snow levels,” said Rod MacLean, the utility manager with the City of Kelowna.

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“Right now, we are low but that doesn’t mean things aren’t going to change, so we’re not going to make any decisions today.”

2:20 Drier and warmer than normal winter weather

According to Gill, the lack of snow is causing problems that go beyond just the winter — moisture from the snow would act as a water source for the crops heading into the spring.

So less snow means less moisture — and less insulation when temperatures do drop.

“What the snow does, is if we do get a cold snap, it acts as a blanket so it protects the roots, especially the young trees,” said Gill.

“If it does get really cold, it creates a blanket and keeps the roots warm and in the springtime, it melts off and moisturizes the soil.”

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According to Global News meteorologist Peter Quinlan, this year was the driest on record in Kelowna with December following suit.

“Temperatures ended up trending 3.4 C warmer than average and it was very dry. Precipitation-wise we saw only 70 per cent of normal moisture at the Kelowna airport which was about 22.7 millimetres, when normally we would see about 32.6 mm,” said Quinlan.

3:02 Global Okanagan Weather: January 3, 2024

With a different extreme weather event every year, Gill says it’s getting harder to frequently generate crops on his property.

“It was a vineyard, now it’s all ripped out because two cold snaps in a row killed off all the vines so I ripped out everything this year and I’m going to replant it to an orchard next year,” said Gill.

“Now that I replant this, it’s going to take me five years to generate any sort of crop from it.”