A powerful late-February system that lashed British Columbia with strong winds and mountain snowfall also brought record-breaking warmth to parts of the Interior — including communities in the Okanagan and Shuswap.
Environment Canada said a strong frontal system swept across the province on Feb. 25 and 26, delivering heavy snow to highway passes and powerful winds to several regions. Rogers Pass recorded 16 cm of snowfall, while wind gusts reached 98 km/h in Hope and 94 km/h in Lytton. Prince George saw gusts of 81 km/h.
But as the system moved through, warm air surged into parts of the southern Interior, toppling daily temperature records in three communities.
Salmon Arm set a preliminary new daily high of 15.2ºC on Feb. 26, smashing the previous record of 10.6ºC set in 1932. Records in that area date back to 1893.
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In Vernon, the temperature climbed to 11.7ºC, breaking the old mark of 10.7ºC set in 2005. Temperature records there extend back to 1900.
Further west in the Thompson region, Ashcroft reached 13.5ºC, surpassing the previous Feb. 26 record of 12.0ºC set in 1980. Records in that area have been kept since 1944.
Environment Canada noted that the record figures are preliminary and based on historical stations active during each period of record.
The contrasting conditions — heavy snow in the mountain passes and near-springlike warmth in valley communities — underscore the dramatic temperature swings often associated with strong frontal systems in late winter.
