
Environment Canada is warning of a potential severe thunderstorm in the Kamloops area for Monday afternoon.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the Thompson and Nicola regions, as well as the North Okanagan and parts of the Kootenays. A “watch” means there’s a possibility of that storm happening; it would be upgraded to a severe thunderstorm “warning” if the storm risk became imminent.
The thunderstorm risk exists throughout the afternoon into the early evening.
The forecast says there could be strong winds, hail and heavy rain accompanied by any thunderstorms.
Environment Canada is warning people to go indoors if they hear thunder or see lightning in their area.
On Sunday, in an update to media, the BC Wildfire Service said at least 31 per cent of all wildfires in the province this year have been started by lightning. Among those was Thursday night’s intense blaze just metres away from some homes in Juniper Ridge; that fire has now been brought under control.
For the Kamloops area, a special air quality statement also remains in place because of widespread smoke. As of noon, the Air Quality Health Index for Kamloops was rated at six; the best air quality reading would be one, and the worst would be 10+. The forecast says air quality will deteriorate to a rating of nine for Kamloops this afternoon.
Meanwhile, a heat warning also is still in place for Kamloops and the Thompson River watershed. The heat warning also extends through the Fraser Canyon, the Okanagan and the Boundary regions, and it’s been in place for all of these areas for almost two weeks.
The forecast in Kamloops is calling for a high of 31 degrees Celsius today and 34 C tomorrow, before a slight reprieve on Wednesday with a high of 26 C. After that, forecast daily highs are expected to be between 33 C and 35 C from Thursday to Sunday, which is five-to-seven degrees above average for this time of year.
Overnight lows also remain well above normal for Kamloops; the temperature is not expected to drop below 17 C at any point over the next week, and the average for this time of year is about 13 C.