‘It’s a bit of a toss up’: Dream cautiously of a white Christmas in Kamloops, Okanagan

With forecast temperatures teasing a white Christmas in Kamloops and the Okanagan it’s hard to tell whether there will be snow on the ground on Dec. 25. Between 1989 and 2023 there were 15 green Christmases in Kelowna and 17 in Kamloops. This year there's a mix of rain and snow in the forecast since temperatures are expected to hover around the freezing mark. “It's a bit of a toss up... the temperatures will be right near zero degrees, plus or minus a little bit. It'll just be a matter of whether or not what falls right before Christmas lands as snow and can kind of stick around to get that official two centimetres (for a perfect white Christmas),” Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan said. With the first significant snowfall of the season floating down on Kamloops and the Okanagan on Monday, the region is off to a good start. However, temperatures are expected to rise leading into next week. Environment Canada expects Kamloops to sit around 5 Celsius on Sunday with Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton a little colder at 3 C. The Weather Network forecasts further into the future than Environment Canada, and it anticipates rain and temperatures well above 0 C next week and on Christmas Day. The network is predicting highs of 5 C or 6 C with a chance of scattered showers in Penticton next week, and a mix of sun and cloud with a high of 5 C on Christmas. READ MORE: Okanagan, Kamloops getting first significant snow of season https://infotel.ca/newsitem/okanagan-kamloops-getting-first-significant-snow-of-season/it107489 The forecast shows highs of 4 C or 5 C with a chance of showers in Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon next week. The Weather Network is predicting a high of 5 C with a chance of rain in Vernon on Christmas Day, a high of 5 C with a mix sun and cloud in Kamloops, and a high of 4 C with both sunshine and clouds as well in Kelowna. Another weather forecaster, AccuWeather, has a similar prediction as the Weather Network, but it said flurries are possible in all four cities on Christmas Day.  Castellan said a bit of rain doesn’t mean all hope for a white Christmas is lost since temperatures could fluctuate a few decisive degrees. “The thing is a little bit of rain can not necessarily totally render the snowpack away,” Castellan said. “It could really erode and make a bit of a slush fest of what's on the ground. But give us another few days here, and when we can see better what’s happening over the weekend and early in the week. We'll have a much better idea on the Christmas forecast.” Environment Canada calculates the chances for a white Christmas in its metropolitan areas, and it puts Kelowna’s odds at 56 per cent, and Kamloops’ slightly lower at 52 per cent. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .