Environment Canada issues thunderstorm warnings for Kamloops, Merritt

Aug 11, 2022 | 4:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Late Thursday afternoon (Aug. 11), Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Kamloops area. It comes in addition to an earlier warning put in place for the Merritt and Nicola region.

Forecaster Armel Castellan says storm activity will be intense and highly localized.

“There’s going to be, possibly, hail, strong gusts — even up to 90 kilometres per hour and damage from that,” Castellan told CFJC Today. Very intense downpours — we’ve already seen some landslides.“

The warnings come in concert with a heat warning for the Fraser Canyon. Castellan says he’s not predicting an extreme heat emergency, but the weather warrants a general alert.

“The temperatures are also very warm, which is part of a big day of thunderstorm activity,” he said. “We have temperatures already reaching 34.3 in Lytton. Overnight it was only 17.8, so we’re still at heat warning criteria.”

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Thunderstorm activity following a period of hot, dry weather raises the possibility of new wildfire starts. Castellan says there is precipitation in the forecast, but that doesn’t completely alleviate the danger.

“There’s also going to be dry lightning occurring simultaneously with those showers,” noted Castellan. “Absolutely, the threat is there for wildfire starts because not all of this is going to fall with substantial rain.”

by James Peters

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Environment Canada issues thunderstorm warnings for Kamloops, Merritt

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