It’s a hot one outside in Kelowna.
Thursday’s temperature reached 9 C, which broke the previous record of 8.4 C set in 2003, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist.
The large storm on the West Coast this week is contributing to the warmer weather, he said.
“It’s the kind of system we’re getting from the west off of the Pacific coming from the warmer direction and we got some wind to scour the cold air near the ground. There’s no snow on the ground downtown and in the South Okanagan and the wind is coming out of the south and southwest. The sun (is out).”
READ MORE: Warm weather for Kelowna but slippery roads in the mountains
It’s a variety of factors that led to the record, which a pretty weak one, he said.
“If I look at all the records for the month, only (Dec. 22 and 23) had lower records than today,” he said. “It’s a record but not off the charts.”
“This happens, the outlook is for a bit cooler, but the pattern is remaining generally mild. The average high for this time of year is generally around -2 C.”
Temperatures for this week are expected to remain around a high of 4 C heading into the weekend. Saturday will have a high of 3 C with a mix of snow and showers, and Sunday will have a high of 4 C with showers.
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carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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