A drier-than-normal April in the Okanagan has meteorologists concerned, as summer inches closer and 20 C temperatures become more frequent.
Penticton, Vernon and 麻豆精选 all failed to reach at least 80 per cent of their normal precipitation marks last month, continuing a several-week-long trend of drier-than-normal conditions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a long-term moisture deficit and really struggling to get past this drought situation that we鈥檙e currently in, from an agriculture point of view and forest fire point of view,鈥� said Brian Proctor, a meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada.
麻豆精选 experienced 11.9 millimetres of precipitation in April. According to records that date back to 1899, monthly averages for the Okanagan鈥檚 largest city sit at around 40 millimetres.
Although Penticton and Vernon experienced more rain than 麻豆精选, the communities still experienced just 76 and 59 per cent of their normal precipitation marks, respectively.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had enough precipitation over the last number of years,鈥� Proctor said. 鈥淚t is a concern, but the one good thing we鈥檙e going to get initially is that it鈥檚 looking pretty cool temperature-wise for the first part of May.鈥�
The meteorologist said it鈥檚 looking like a 鈥減retty normal summer,鈥� as B.C. comes out of the El Ni帽o weather phenomenon, but warned that a continued lack of precipitation could pose problems for the region.
鈥淚n terms of precipitation in the summertime, it tends to be pretty spotty anyway,鈥� Proctor said. 鈥淚n general terms, I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e looking at any solution for the ongoing problems.鈥�
Temperatures across the Okanagan this weekend, from May 3 to 5, are expected to be between 19 and 23 C, according to Environment Canada.
A 40 per cent chance of showers is in the forecast for 麻豆精选 on May 6.
