There is a high chance that a weather system will arrive in the southern Interior late into the weekend that could bring some much needed rain.
Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist there’s a system moving north from the Arizona.
“It doesn’t mean to say everywhere will get it, and I really, really worry about the chance of dry lightning with this. So there will be areas that get enough rain, parts won’t. And parts will just get a lightning strike, and then sometime later next week we’ll be hearing about a new fire perhaps, unfortunately.”
Lundquist says forecasters are also watching for potential winds with the system, which could help push out smoke but could also intensify wildfires.
He says any rain right now is critical for this area.
“We need it everywhere in B.C., south of about 100 Mile. There will be some areas that perhaps get enough that it will cool down for a while. This is a bonus, in a sense, that maybe it will give us half a week of cooler conditions, wetter conditions, so that we can get a little further into summer without this constant smoke and constant heat.”
Before that system, people in the Kamloops area can expect another mini heat wave that will last from today through Saturday.
A heat warning has been issued for the Thompson and Nicola regions, as well as the Fraser Canyon, the Okanagan, Shuswap, Similkameen, Boundary country, as well as most of coastal B.C.
Lundquist says daytime highs will be between 35 and 39 degrees Celsius in the Kamloops area, but he says we may not reach those forecast highs.
“The problem is the smoke provides a blanket over us that filters the sun, so the heating moves up in the atmosphere. So we might not actually see the highs that we’re forecasting.”
He says overnight lows will be between 18 and 21 degrees, which is what’s in the forecast. “I think sometimes the smoke sends down long-wave radiations, the stuff that keeps us warm. So I’m entirely confident about the overnight lows being really hot; that’s too hot. But the daytime highs, if they’re muted, that might just be the saving factor, if the afternoons aren’t as hot.”
Both Lytton and Lillooet have highs of 40 C in the forecast for Friday and Saturday, while Grand Forks and Rock Creek are also expected to reach 40 C on Saturday.
Cache Creek is expecting a high of 39 C on Saturday while Merritt and Clearwater are both expected to hit 38 C; most of the Kootenays are also expected to reach between 38 and 39 C.
