Environment Canada is predicting a rainy May for the Thompson-Okanagan region for the Interior’s monsoon season.
It comes after Kelowna had a record month in March – the city’s dryest March ever, with 12 per cent of the normal rainfall, only 3 mm of precipitation. Despite getting a bit of rain at the end of April, Environment Canada says March and most of April were dry for the entire Thompson-Okanagan region, so we need the moisture.
“Typically we get a lot more rain starting middle of May, but it looks like it’s starting early this year,” Doug Lundquist, meteorologist for Environment Canada told the Capital News.
“I’ve done this for many years, and the way the pattern is set up I think we are heading into a wetter May than we usually would have.”
Environment Canada can only predict rainfall up to 10 days early, so there’s no telling how much rain might come down this May. However, this week is the Government of Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Week and the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations communications manager Sandra Follack says it’s always good to prepare.
Follack, who is also a deputy fire chief for the Kelowna Fire Department, reminds the public to keep its eye on the Central Okanagan Emergency website and social media for any flood warnings.
“Every day we check a dashboard to make sure that we’re on top of anything that might require us to tell the public to get prepared,” she said.
She added that stockpiles of sandbags will be available at local fire halls throughout the Central Okanagan for those protecting their properties, call your city or local fire department to find out more.
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