All drought records for Kelowna, Kamloops set to be broken this year

As of the end of November, this has been the driest year on record in Kelowna.

For Kamloops, it’s coming in at number two, but barely.

By the end of November, 129.8 mm of precipitation had been recorded in Kelowna, Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa Erven told iNFOnews.ca.

Normally the city gets 354.4 in the first 11 months of the year so, this year, it is at 38.6% of normal.

That puts it well ahead of 2020, which had the second driest year to date on record, at 137.1 mm.

An average of 32.6 mm falls in December so, even if that average holds this year, 2023 will set the record since there was above average precipitation recorded in December 2020.

READ MORE: Drought deepens in Kamloops and the Okanagan

The driest year to date for Kamloops was in 1979 when it recorded 135.7 mm of precipitation.

So far this year, a mere 2 mm more has fallen.

That means it will come down to December precipitation to determine the winner.

Kamloops averages 252.4 mm of precipitation for the first 11 months of each year so the city is at 54.6% of normal.

Erven did not have data for Penticton or Vernon.