Warmest Dec. 1 on record for Vernon and Kelowna

The Okanagan is enjoying spring-like weather in December.

Today is, by far, the warmest Dec. 1 on record for Vernon, Kelowna and several other Okanagan communities, some which have weather data going back more than 100 years.

The temperature hit 17.2 Celsius at 1 p.m. in Vernon, which Environment Canada said smashes the old Dec. 1 mark of 11.2 C set in 2012.

Kelowna reached 17.8 C today, surpassing the 13.0 C record in 2012.

Penticton got up to 22.1 C, shattering their record of 11.2 C, also set in 2012.

“What may be of more note, they [Penticton] have come close, or potentially tied or broken, the warmest B.C. temperature in December,” said Geoff Coulson, meteorologist with Environment Canada. “When we went back in the record books, Lilllooet, back on Dec. 3, 1933, got up to 22.2 degrees (C) which right now, in the record books at least, is the warmest day in B.C. history.”

Salmon Arm is also expected to break its Dec. 1 temperature record, reaching 17.6 C.

Coulson told Vernon Matters the warm weather, which is expected to subside by Thursday, is linked to the storm system that’s been dumping rain on coastal B.C. the last few days.

“That storm system has been not only bringing lots of rain to coastal areas, it’s also been pushing a lot of warm air into the Interior of B.C.,” Coulson explained. “That combined with the fact that we’ve also got winds coming down the slope of the coastal mountains, causing the air mass to warm up as well, so a real combination of strong south-west winds, warm air from the system and that subsiding air as it comes down the coast mountain.”