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DE K A M L O O P S
Olympians feeling Kamloops’ love Page A19
THURSDAY
Thursday, July 5, 2012 X Volume 25 No. 54
Kamloops, B.C., Canada X 30 cents at Newsstands
THIS WEEK
Students brighten RIH OR waiting room Page B1 Thompson River Publications Partnership Ltd.
Weather man says hot, dry days here By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
I GOT THIS! Sierra Thiessen prepares for the drop as she learns to ride her skateboard at the Kamloops Skate Park at McArthur Island. The park — and most other areas that draw kids’ attention — is likely to be busy in coming days as warmer weather finally arrives. Dave Eagles/KTW
Few people in Kamloops will be surprised to learn June was a wet month for the Tournament Capital. Just over 74 millimetres of rain fell on the city last month, more than twice what the city would normally get during its rainy season (35.2 millimetres is the average). In the 61 years Environment Canada has kept tabs on rainfall, only two Junes have been wetter. Even 1999, the last time Kamloops experienced significant flooding before 2012, was slightly drier — albeit, only by a millimetre. Where the city normally sees measurable rainfall on 11 days in June, weather data shows 18 wet days this year. The greatest downpour came on June 23, when more than 18 millimetres fell on the city, setting a new daily record in the process. It was also a cooler month for the city, with a mean temperature of 16.7 C instead of the usual 18 C. Environment Canada meteorologist Jim Steele said June is normally a cooler, rainier month for Kamloops, as upper disturbances move in from the coast bringing widespread showers. But, this month, nature went a little overboard. “We could just about name these things as they came through and have run out of names,” Steele said. “Now, we’re in July and the cold lows seem to have quit.” For the rest of the summer, Steele said the outlook returns to normal. If the weather sticks to the plan, Kamloops should see daytime highs in the high 20s in early July, rising to the 30-degree mark from mid-July to mid-August. A typical summer also includes 11 days per month of above-30 C weather and two to three days of above-35 C in both July and August. Steele said the outlook also calls for less rain than average through the summer. Even if that prediction isn’t correct, he said both months usually get “not even half of what we got in June.” The drying pattern should begin this weekend, when temperatures are expected to creep into the low 30s, Steele said. They could get as high as the mid-30s by next week. “Summer is here,” he added. “Let’s hope it sticks.”