Environment Canada says a severe thunderstorm storm could bring between 10 and 30 millimetres of rain to the Okanagan.
Precipitation 鈥� including the potential for snowfall on high-elevation passes along B.C. Interior highways 鈥� is forecast over the 24 hours for 91大黄鸭, Vernon and Penticton.
A late-spring storm with mixed precipitation is expected to hit the region Friday afternoon (June 20). This comes after the trio of Okanagan cities failed to surpass a total of three millimetres of rain this month up until this point, representing among their driest Junes on record, said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt Loney.
"It is definitely welcome precipitation," Loney said in a phone interview Friday morning. "I think it's safe to say we'll anything from 10 to as high as 30 or 35 millimetres. Pretty much the whole area should be coated with a decent amount."
The storm's most intense precipitation will likely end sometime Saturday morning (June 21), Loney added.
With recent wildfires in the area bringing what meteorologists call "burn scars" to mountainsides, Loney said this weekend's rainfall could carry the risk of landslides or debris flow in those areas.
"When you get intense rainfall rates or precipitation episodes, you can have that in the area of those burn scars," he said. "That's something the public should know about."
Daytime temperatures, meanwhile, will hover around 17 C across the region on Saturday, the first official day of summer.
"Tomorrow (June 21) will be the chilliest day people experience but then we'll climb back up to near and even above normal by Tuesday," Loney stated.
Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the region early Friday morning, warning of "sudden heavy downpours" that may cause localized flooding.
Loney said this weekend's potential storm is not uncommon, but explained that its impact could still be notable.
"There's going to be a lot of variability with this system."
