Weather Appreciation

[Queen K]

Today was so cold even I only got out for an hour. Even then I had to thaw out later.

[Glacier]

Just be glad we aren't in Winnipeg where the have been 8 degrees below average, and their average is WAY colder than ours! It is so bad there that they are issuing a state of emergency over the cold. There is some debate as to whether or not extreme cold events can be a "state of emergency" since this has never been the case in the past.

March has definitely been colder than average in Kelowna, the coldest since 2009. The average this month is 3.4 degrees. This compares to the 30 year average of 4.1 degrees.

Penticton has averaged 4.5 degrees this month compared to the 30 year average of 5.0.
Summerland has averaged 4.4 degrees vs. the 30 year average of 4.8.

Kamloops has averaged 2.6. This compares to the 30 year average of 5.2.

[Woodenhead]

Every time anyone says "Winnipeg" (outside of hockey) I get the shivers. brrrrrrrr

[DeepEnd]

Yesterday at work just after the hardest rain storm in quite a while.

[Glacier]

March 2014 Summary:

In some places of the province, namely the Cariboo, this was one of the top 4 coldest Marches on record. For others along the coast it was slightly above average.

Unlike places like Quesnel where it was 5 degrees below average, the Okanagan was only about 0.3 below the average.

In terms of precipitation, the coast enjoyed one of the wettest on record. By contrast, the central interior was the driest on record. Houston did not get any precipitation last month.

The Okangan was interesting. The South Okanagan was quite a bit below the average while the north Okanagan was quite a bit wetter than average (150% of normal). The Kelowna airport was right on the average.

[Queen K]

Or, "It's QK's weekend weather report" time. When QK has days off, regardless of what they are, but ESPECIALLY on Fri, Sat and Sun., count on cloudy skies, given to rain if she's trying to set up a yard sale, heck, even think about having a yard sale.

LIKE THIS WEEKEND for example.

[Glacier]

Serves you right for taking days off... Now stop ruining my weekends, and get back to work!

[Lady tehMa]

Be nice now Glacier :p

I'm not to blame for this one though - I had intended to wash/clean the car, but put it off since I'll be hauling buckets of dirt.

Hey Glacier, question for you. It seems like spring hovers from 0-9 degrees or so for ages, then it hits the sweet spot of 10-19 for a very short time before really heating up. I know it is a really subjective view, is there any basis in fact? And if so, why is that?

[Glacier]

Here is a graph of the averages for Penticton (fairly representative of the Okanagan). Notice a few things:
1) The temperature warms up quickly in the Spring (March, April, & May), and then June hits which is very unsettled. This in turn slows the warming significantly. June is the wettest month of the year even though it only has 30 days.
2) The heat really kicks in about the 7th of July (last year was a rare exception in that the heat started in June). The temperature peaks on July 30th.
3) The temperature starts a steady decline until the end of November.
4) The temperature bottoms out around the 3rd of January. This is quite different from most of North America where their coldest time of year is at the end of January.

Click to expand

[Queen K]

It will hit the "sweet spot" on Monday. Guess what day that is.

[Glacier]

It will hit the "sweet spot" on Monday. Guess what day that is.

The day I go back to work... oh nooo, it's MY fault!

[Glacier]

This was the first March ever in which the Kelowna airport had a warmer March than the Kamloops airport.

Kamloops was 2.1 degrees below average while Kelowna was only 0.5 degrees below average. Salmon Arm was also 2.1 degrees below average. Here is a list of all weather stations within 140 km of Kelowna showing their deviation from average:
SALMON ARM.................-2.1
KAMLOOPS....................-2.1
CASTLEGAR..................-1.6
VERNON......................-1.2
NAKUSP.......................-1.2
SILVER CREEK................-1.1
NEW DENVER................-0.9
MERRITT......................-0.8
PRINCETON...................-0.8
KELOWNA A..................-0.5
KELOWNA MWS0............-0.4
MIDWAY......................-0.3
PENTICTON...................-0.3
OKANAGAN CENTR..........-0.3
HEDLEY NP MINE............-0.3
SUMMERLAND................-0.2
OSOYOOS....................-0.2
WINFIELD....................-0.1
PEACHLAND.....................0
JELLICOE......................0.3

Here is a list of the average temperatures (highest to lowest):
OSOYOOS CS...................5.9
PEACHLAND....................5.4
PENTICTON....................4.7
OKANAGAN CENTRE...........4.6
SUMMERLAND .................4.6
WINFIELD......................4.6
HEDLEY........................4.3
KELOWNA MWS0..............4.1
KELOWNA A...................3.6
MIDWAY.......................3.6
KAMLOOPS AUT...............3.5
VERNON AUTO.................3.3
MERRITT STP..................3.2
KAMLOOPS A..................3.1
VERNON NORTH...............3
CASTLEGAR...................2.9
MERRITT.......................2.7
NEW DENVER.................2.7
NAKUSP.......................2.5
SILVER CREEK..................2.1
PRINCETON....................2
SALMON ARM..................2
JELLICOE.....................1.3
KAMLOOPS PRATT ROAD....1.3
HEDLEY NP MINE.............-1.1
SUN PEAKS UPPER...........-6.1

P.S. By this time next week we might be seeing temperatures well into the 20s.

[Lady tehMa]

I'm appreciating all this sun n__n

[DeepEnd]

Just remember clear skys for night time too! Lunar eclipse time is here.

Test shot from last night.

[Glacier]

It was 26 degrees in Ottawa yesterday... tomorrow it's going to be -9.