Sunday’s winter storm smashed through the province, bringing cold temperatures and plenty of wind with it.
“The noise was like a train going through,” local resident Vickie Dennis told the Review, “It is like a bottleneck where we live. The wind comes off the top of Paul Creek and Flattop mountain then it just hammers through here.”
Dennis was just one of several residents who had posted about damage from the high-winds that ripped through the valley. The Review contacted other residents who had publicly posted about damage from the winds, but received no further responses by the time of printing.
Read More: Winter storm warning issued for the Okanagan
Environment Canada had issued a warning for the winds, as well as for snowfall ahead of the weekend.
“So last night that was the arrival of the arctic front, which hit right around 1:30 [p.m.],” Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said on Monday. “Anyone outside would have felt the vigorous cold snap arrive suddenly.”
It wasn’t surprising that some residents reported damages from the storm as it moved across the Similkameen.
“Princeton airport saw wind gusts of around 70 km and three centimetres of snow over two hours,” said MacDonald. “Typically when you get in that range, you start to see damage to trees and some structures. We had wind warnings out. For the entirety of the province pretty much.”
Read More: Much of B.C. under weather warnings as winter storm touches down on south coast
Following the storm, residents will have to endure the cold for a while longer yet, although the worst of winds are expected to have passed.
“We’re in the arctic air now, so we’re looking at highs of minus 18 to 20 degrees, and minus 24 degrees at night, and lower with the wind chill,” said MacDonald. “We’ll see winds up to 15 or 20 [km/h], nothing like last afternoon. That was pretty exceptional.”
Just in case, it may be wise to make sure you don’t have anything loose in your yards that might get blown over or away.
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