Weather Appreciation

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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

Facts from November:

  • November was about 2 degrees above normal in the Okanagan.
  • Fernie, BC was the second most above normal place in Canada measuring 3.5 degrees above its average. Only Cape Parry, NWT (4.7 degrees above average) was more.
  • Fort St John and Mayo, Yukon were the most below normal places in Canada measuring a whopping 4.9 degrees below their averages. (In order to comprehend how large a 4.9 variation from the normal is, understand that the average November temperature in Prince George is only 4.3 degrees colder than that of Kelowna.)

  • The three driest places in BC were in the Cariboo: Puntzi Mountain (4.5 mm), Quesnel (12.3 mm), and Williams Lake (13.4 mm).
  • The Okanagan was slightly wetter than average varying from 28 mm in Summerland to 62 mm in Vernon.
  • Fort St John is on pace for having the snowiest October to December on record (posting this may jinx the chance of setting a new record).
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Cumungala
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Cumungala »

It seems to me like the trend for this winter will be the actual temperature of the day being a LOT warmer than the predicted temperature. Today they called for 5 degrees. It got up to almost 9. Yesterday they called for 7 and it most certainly was nowhere near 7. It was almost 13 at my place. Last night they called for 0 and it barely got below 5. I just cant understand why the weather men are so off with their predictions this year. That's been happening for the past month. I can see them being a degree or 2 wrong, but 5 or 6 degrees?! I think I sense a 4th consecutive Green Christmas coming for Kelowna. It would be a real shame if that happened.
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

Yup, it was warm yesterday. Here is the map of what it was like yesterday at noon All the way up to 14 degrees!

Their forecasts haven't been too far off. It got down close to freezing last night about 1:00 am, but then a warm wind came in and drove the temperature up 5 or so degrees by morning.

I disagree about a green Christmas. I think we will get some cold weather and snow by then. We can expect the Pacific states to get hit hard this winter, and we will get clipped by this. When it's all said and done, we should be near average for temperature (though I would estimate on the cold side) and slightly above for precipitation and snowfall, though I think the area to the north of us (central interior) could be quite dry this winter. This dryness could very well make it down our way, but it really depends on how strong the Arctic Oscillation turns out to be.
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Cumungala
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Cumungala »

The meteorologists continue to be very wrong with their predictions. They called for a high of 0 today and it currently says its almost 6 degrees on my outside thermometer. I just have a feeling that winter won't come this year. There always has to be something wrong with our weather. They are calling for -3 for a high tomorrow, but I'll bet big money it will hit at least +5. I realize that the predicted highs probably come from the Kelowna Airport, but I doubt that there would be that huge of a degree difference between the lake and the Airport. I could see a 2 or 3 degree difference between those places.

The temperature map on that Wunderground website has been showing for about the past month that Downtown Kelowna has been the warmest place in the Interior of BC. That's just absurd.
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

Sorry, Cumungula, your thermometer is out to lunch. Backyard thermometers are not very accurate. Why, my indoor thermometer recorded 33 degrees on Saturday thanks to the sun shining on it through the winter. I can tell you for a fact that it wasn't much above 20 degrees in my house at the time.

Here are some more interesting stats about Kelowna though (using 1981-2010 climate normals).

Kelowna is:

    warmer than only 48% of all BC weather stations.

    warmer than 18% of weather stations to the south.
    warmer than 72% of weather stations to the north.

    warmer than 76% of weather stations to the east.
    warmer than 42% of weather stations to the west.

    drier than 93% of BC weather stations.

    drier than 94% of weather stations to the south
    drier than 90% of weather stations to the north.

    drier than 91% of weather stations to the west.
    drier than 100% of weather stations to the east.

Castlegar is the warmest place east of Kelowna.
Green Island, near the Alaska border, is the furthest north weather station in BC that has an average annual temperature higher than that of Kelowna.

The geographic centre of the 600 or so BC weather stations used in the past 30 years is just to the northwest of Lillooet.
The geographic median of all BC weather stations is south of Whistler (and Kelowna for that matter). The median means that 50% of weather stations are north, 50% are east, 50% are west, and 50% are south of this point.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Notice how the coast is driest in the summer while the interior is largely driest in the spring. The south Okanagan and other parts of the extreme southern interior are driest in the late summer to early fall.
Notice how the coast is driest in the summer while the interior is largely driest in the spring. The south Okanagan and other parts of the extreme southern interior are driest in the late summer to early fall.


Notice how the coast is typically wettest in the fall and winter while the interior is typically wettest in the summer.
Notice how the coast is typically wettest in the fall and winter while the interior is typically wettest in the summer.


For most places in BC, the first half of the year is drier than the second half. The most extreme example is in the northwest centered around Telegraph Creek/Iskut/Dease Lake where almost 70% of their precipitation falls in the second half of the year. Anywhere north of the Okanagan is also drier in the first half of the year, though not as disproportionate as the northwest.

On the other end, the Boundary Country (Midway, Grand Forks, etc.) has the highest percentage of their precipitation in the first half of the year (as much as 57% in Rock Creek). The Okanagan follows this trend, especially in the south.

The 5 driest spots in BC are:
    1) Ashcroft (212 mm)
    2) Spences Bridge (270 mm)
    3) Kamloops (281 mm)
    4) Cache Creek (291 mm)
    5) Big Creek (306 mm)

The 5 driest spots in BC in the first 6 months of the year are:
    1) Ashcroft (94 mm)
    2) Big Creek (102 mm)
    3) Spences Bridge (108 mm)
    4) Telegraph Creek (113 mm)
    5) Riske Creek (118 mm)
    - Redstone (118 mm)


The 5 driest spots in BC in the last 6 months of the year are:
    1) Ashcroft (118 mm)
    2) Osoyoos (154 mm)
    3) Kamloops (157 mm)
    4) Oliver (160 mm)
    - West Kelowna (160 mm)
    - Naramata (160 mm)


Interesting note: Telegraph Creek is 71st (of 581 in the second half of the year)

The 5 wettest spots in BC are:
    1) HENDERSON LAKE HATCHERY (uninhabited place) - 7172 mm
    2) MORESBY ISLAND MITCHELL INLET (uninhabited place) - 6278 mm
    3) BOAT BLUFF (uninhabited place) - 5099 mm
    4) HARTLEY BAY - 4762 mm
    5) TAHSIS - 4277 mm

The 5 wettest spots in BC in the first 6 months of the year are:
    1) HENDERSON LAKE HATCHERY - 3493 mm
    2) MORESBY ISLAND MITCHELL INLET - 2918 mm
    3) BOAT BLUFF - 2354 mm
    4) HARTLEY BAY - 2038 mm
    5) TAHSIS - 2009 mm

The 5 wettest spots in BC in the last 6 months of the year are:
    1) HENDERSON LAKE HATCHERY - 3679 mm
    2) MORESBY ISLAND MITCHELL INLET - 3360 mm
    3) BOAT BLUFF - 2745 mm
    4) HARTLEY BAY - 2754 mm
    5) TAHSIS - 2269 mm
"No one has the right to apologize for something they did not do, and no one has the right to accept an apology if the wrong was not done to them."
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Cumungala
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Cumungala »

Yeah my thermometer was indeed out to lunch lol. I replaced the battery in the remote and it now gives more accurate readings. It said the temperature only got up to 1.5 degrees today. That seems a lot more realistic.
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

vernondec2012.png
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Cumungala »

Im surprised that we got all of this snow. I expected a bit, but not quite this much, and they're calling for more tomorrow too. It looks like everything is lining up for a White Christmas. Infact I EXPECT that this snow will last until Christmas day. Or even better, well into January. There's really no way around it. If this snow melts before the big day then my Christmas spirit will go with it. Last year I saw people playing soccer in City Park on Christmas day. What a GREAT way to celebrate Christmas...
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Cumungala »

Well it was a White Christmas in all of Kelowna today, for the first time since 2008. It certainly wasn't anything spectacular since probably half of my front lawn is bare, but I am happy that we had a bit of snow for today.

This is what I think the chances are for getting a White Christmas for various towns in our area

Grand Forks: 75%
Greenwood: 90%
Midway: 80%
Keremeos: 75%
Princeton: 90%
Osoyoos: 50%
Oliver: 60%
Okanagan Falls: 60%
Penticton 40%
Naramata: 40%
Summerland: 60% (Probably 40% near the lake)
Peachland: 40%
West Kelowna: 60% (Probably 45% near the lake)
Lower Kelowna: 50%
Higher Kelowna: 70%
Joe Rich: 100%
Beaverdell: 100%
Winfield: 70%
Okanagan Centre: 55%
Higher Vernon: 75%
Lower Vernon: 60%
Lumby: 75%
Cherryville: 80%
Armstrong 75%
Enderby 75%
Salmon Arm 65%
Sicamous 75%
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Queen K
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Queen K »

It's snowing right now, white, dry and coming down gently. But definitely large flakes of SNOW!
As WW3 develops, no one is going to be dissing the "preppers." What have you done?
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

Never snowed a flake at my place. The following table shows how much snow was on the ground Christmas morning in BC. I've left off all the coastal places with zero. Penticton only had 1 cm, so it was not a "white Christmas."

It's interesting how Trail and Castlegar have more snow than Revelstoke and Nakusp. I'm pretty sure this isn't normally the case.

whitechristmas2012.JPG
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

It's the dead of winter right now, so there is really no better time to talk about heat...

Did you know that there are only 4 places in BC that hit 40 degrees in 4 different months (Boston Bar, Lytton, Spences Bridge, and Lillooet). Lillooet holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in the province during the months of April, May, July, and December. Lytton and Port Alberni hold the record for two different months.

Hottest temperature ever recorded in BC by month:
    January = 20.5°C at Port Alice and Dawson's Landing in the year 1986. Tofino was close behind that same year at 20.1°C.
    February = 21.7°C (71°F) at Port Alberni in 1916.

    March = 31.7°C (89°F) at Port Alberni in 1926.
    April = 36.1°C (97°F) at Lillooet in 1934.

    May = 41.7°C (107°F) at Lillooet in 1936.
    June = 42.0°C at Boston Bar in 1987.

    July = 44.4°C (112°F) at Lillooet, Lytton, and Chinook Cove (near Barriere) in 1941.
    August = 41.8 °C at Lytton in 2004.

    September = 39.0°C at Williams Lake, McLeese lake, Yale, Billings, Cowichan Lake in 1988. Princeton, Lytton, and Merritt were close behind that same year recording 38.8, 38.7, and 38.5 respectively.
    October = 32.8°C (91°F) at Greenwood in 1911.

    November = 23.9°C (75°F) at Kamloops in 1975, Merritt in 1921, and Bull Harbour in 1962.
    December = 22.2°C (72°F) at Lillooet in 1933.

Note: Fahrenheit is shown in brackets in cases where the record was recorded long before Celsius was on the scene.
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

20 different places in BC have been -50 °C (-58 °F) or colder on at least one occasion. 1997 was the last time the province saw a -50 reading. 12 of these 21 weather stations below no longer exist. Interestingly, Finlay Forks got flooded out by the WAC Bennett Dam.

    -58.9 °C (Smith River, 1947)
    -55.6 °C (Finlay Forks, 1947)
    -53.9 °C (Fort St John, 1911)
    -52.8 °C (Puntzi Mountain, 1968)
    -52.8 °C (Lower Post, 1972 & 1974)
    -52.3 °C (Hyland Post, 1972)
    -52 °C (Chetwynd, 1997)
    -51.7 °C (Vanderhoof, 1917)
    -51.7 °C (Fort Nelson, 1947)
    -51.2 °C (Valemount, 1924)
    -51.2 °C (Hudson Hope, 1925 & 1934)
    -51.2 °C (Dease Lake, 1947)
    -51.2 °C (Alexis Creek, 1968)
    -51 °C (Lower Liard Bridge, 1996 & 1997)
    -50.6 °C (Arras, 1974)
    -50.4 °C (Muncho Lake, 1996)
    -50 °C (Atlin, 1917)
    -50 °C (Pouce Coupe, 1927)
    -50 °C (Kleena Kleene, 1950)
    -50 °C (Prince George, 1950)
Last edited by Glacier on Sep 3rd, 2015, 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Woodenhead
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Woodenhead »

You forgot one:

-63.2 °C (Woodenhead's girlfriend's heart, 2007)
Your bias suits you.
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Glacier
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Re: Weather Appreciation

Post by Glacier »

LOL! Sorry, I missed that one!

Here is a complete list of the places in BC to 42 or more degrees:
    44.4 °C (Lillooet, 1941)
    44.4 °C (Lytton, 1941)
    44.4 °C (Chinook Cove, 1941)
    43.9 °C (Rock Creek, 1934)
    43.9 °C (Oliver, 1941)
    43.9 °C (Cumberland, 1942)
    43.3 °C (Greenwood, 1927)
    43.3 °C (Skagit River, 1941)
    43.3 °C (Newgate, 1960)
    42.8 °C (Grand Forks, 1924 & 1939)
    42.8 °C (Waneta, 1924)
    42.8 °C (Stui, 1941)
    42.8 °C (Osoyoos, 1998)
    42.5 °C (Spences Bridge, 1994 & 1998)
    42.2 °C (Dome Creek, 1941)
    42.2 °C (Kimberley, 1944)
    42.2 °C (Kamloops, 1975)
    42.0 °C (Boston Bar, 1984)

Note: All except Boston Bar occurred in July.
"No one has the right to apologize for something they did not do, and no one has the right to accept an apology if the wrong was not done to them."
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