British Columbia Breaks Cold And Snow Records

by Cap Allon, June 15, 2020 in ClimateChangeDispatch


Record cold and late-spring snow helped drive-home the Grand Solar Minimum message across the BC Interior over the weekend.

According to KelownaNow Meteorologist Wesla English, the Interior –one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia– broke a slew of cold records on Saturday.

Kelowna, Kamloops, Clearwater, Penticton, Salmon Arm, and Vernon were among the areas to set new all-time record low-max temperatures for June 13.

“A cool upper low over Southern BC produced chilly temperatures on Saturday, breaking record low daytime highs in several areas,” wrote English.

Below is a breakdown of the records (data courtesy of Environment and Climate Change Canada, and originally reported by kelownanow.com):

  • Kelowna set a new daily record min-high of 12.8C on Saturday, a reading comfortably topping the previous record of 13.3C set in 1981.
  • Kamloops saw its all-time record low smashed, from 1923’s 15C to this weekend’s 13.4C.
  • But it was Salmon Arm that actually saw the biggest change — Saturday’s low-max of 12.4Ccrushed the old record of 14.4C from 1971.
  • Clearwater’s12.8C busted the 13.3C from 1966.
  • While the 13.9C set at Penticton pipped the previous record — 1981’s 14C.

In addition to the cold, this weekend delivered rare late-spring snow to BC, adding to Ontario’s record June snowfall last weekend that brought power outages to parts of the province.

Wet snow accumulated near the summit of the Okanagan Connector between Merritt and Kelowna on Sunday,

See also BOTH KELOWNA AND SUMMERLAND BUST 108-YEAR-OLD COLD RECORDS