A cooler than normal May has set up a 鈥渃ritical鈥� June, according to experts, who say the next five weeks will determine the severity of wildfire season in the Okanagan.
Just like much of 2022 so far, the month of May was cooler and drier than usual in the region. This time around, however, the dry climate comes before the year鈥檚 most pivotal weather month.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 get rain in June, then we can often have a very concerning summer from the fire-weather perspective,鈥� said Doug Lundquist, a meteorologist with Environment Climate Change Canada. 鈥淩ight now, the outlook for summer is that it鈥檚 likely going to be in the cooler than average category, though.鈥�
Parts of the Okanagan, most notably Penticton, failed to reach a temperature of 25 C during May, a high that鈥檚 been tallied in the city for 30 consecutive years prior to 2022.
Precipitation totals, meanwhile, also fell below monthly averages across the Okanagan, with Lundquist adding that Penticton鈥檚 36 millimetres of rain comes in three less than its usual mark.
鈥淪pring as a whole has been dry,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of been the story in the Okanagan, no matter where you are.鈥�
Regardless of what the long-term forecast says, Lundquist says it鈥檚 鈥渁ll hands on deck鈥� for the next three months and that people should be prepared for just about anything.
鈥淚 was looking at the model and there鈥檚 a hint of an extreme heat event in the Northern California and Southern Oregon boundary,鈥� the meteorologist said.
鈥淪o, the moral of the story here is this鈥e (in the Okanagan) should be preparing ourselves and making sure that we鈥檙e ready for any sort of heat event.鈥�
June is the Okanagan鈥檚 rainiest month, according to Lundquist, who anticipates the heightened risk of wildfires if precipitation numbers are still below average between now and the week after Canada Day.
Temperatures in the region during May were nearly two degrees lower than the monthly average but the so-called 鈥渄elayed start鈥� to summer should be the least of people鈥檚 concerns, according to the 琉璃神社-based meteorologist.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 get our rain during the rainiest month of the year, we鈥檙e in trouble,鈥� he said. There鈥檚 a lot of the plate here, and we can鈥檛 just sit back and not consider being prepared.鈥�
logan.lockhart@pentictonwesternnews.com
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