Ice spectacular at Okanagan Lake waterfront

You know it's cold when you're wearing a toque, a balaclava, and a hood, and your head still feels like it’ll freeze right off.

You know it’s cold when your dog looks out the front door, says no thanks, and whips back to the safety of the couch.

And you know it's cold - and windy too - when the spray from Okanagan Lake turns the northern Penticton waterfront into an ice-encrusted wonderland.

That was the case Tuesday, and will likely continue to be the case right through to the weekend. Frozen-in-time waves on the beach, geometric patterns of icicles hanging from wharves and piers, vegetation seemingly several times its regular size.

It's a spectacular sight that the fair-weather tourists never get to see. And not many residents either, as it takes some serious moxie to venture lakeside when everything inside you is screaming "Stay in the car!"

Thankfully, we're now on the cusp of a warming trend. According to Environment Canada, Wednesday will be a real weather oddity in that the daytime high of -10°C will match the nighttime low.

Thursday and Friday will range between -7 and -11, but the big move upward comes Saturday when we could crack the freezing mark.

By Monday, Environment Canada forecasts a high of 3°C. Break out the air conditioner!

Tuesday will be notable in that it's exactly one month since the shortest day of the year. We'll have gained over a half hour of daylight from the dark recesses of late December, and that’s good news in anyone's books.