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Vol. 64, Issue 17
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All aboard the Pineapple Express Temperatures expected to soar into the double digits this week, Environment Canada says
A R NE PE TRYS HEN
There’s a warm spell coming to the East Kootenay this week as the forecast for Monday is a high of 16 degrees.
Lisa Coldwells, meteorologist with Environment Canada, noted that all of Southeast corner is looking at remarkable warm temperatures.
“In fact all of B.C. is going to be underneath some very warm air,” Coldwells said. “That’s due to the Pineapple Express that’s now on the Coast. It’s bringing in warm,
moist air.” The source of the Pineapple Express moisture is the Hawaiian islands. “It’s a stream of atmospheric moisture,” she said.
She noted that all of the precipitation — in this case copious amounts of rain — is falling on the West Coast. “Once that rain has wrung itself out of the
TREVOR CRAWLEY PHOTO
Derek Kortschaga joined the list of eminent Cranbrookians as the Cranbrook and District Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year for 2014. Kortschaga was lauded — and roasted — at a special ceremony Friday, Jan. 23, at the Heritage Inn in Cranbrook. The Chamber’s new board of directors was also sworn in. See Page 3 for more. Pictured about are Kortschaga and other Citizens of the Year. Back row, left to right: Nella Rounsville, Jason Wheeldon, Frank Sandor, Ken Bridge. Front row, left to right: Bud Abbott, Skip Fennessy, Derek Kortschaga, Dorial and Allan Davis.
clouds, that warm air moves over the province and subsides over the mountains and as it comes down it warms,” she said. The warmest days are forecast to be Sunday and Monday. Coldwells said the Monday high of 16 degrees may be a bit optimistic. “I would say that 13 or 14 degrees is definitely not out of the realm of possibility,” she said. “If that happened — if it did crack 14 — that would be the highest ever temperature ever recorded in January.” She noted the last record was 13.9 degrees on Jan. 24, 2005. “We’re definitely moving into records territory with this warm air moving in,” she said. The Pineapple Express situation happens a couple of times a year. The 2005 warm spell had a number of days surrounding that high that likely came from a similar weather situation. “It’s going to be extremely mild for this time of year,” she said. “The normal daytime temperature for Cranbrook is -6.1 in January. You can see even if we get to 12 you’re 15-20 degrees above normal.” But things get colder near the end of the week, where she said highs will be more like two degrees. “We’ll just have to sit and wait and see if we actually get that warm, and in the meanwhile we’ll enjoy the mild temperatures for the end of January,” she said.
Provincial campground fees going up ARNE PETRYSHEN
Camping fees are going up in B.C.’s provincial campgrounds by $2 to $5 per night. That will include popular provincial campgrounds around the East Kootenay, such as Kikomun Creek Provincial Park and Norbury
Lake Provincial Park. The province said the price increase is to maintain high service levels in the parks as visitors numbers increase. The price increases will take effect March 15, 2015. Mary Polak, Minister of Environment, said the increase comes
after years of investing in capital projects aimed at attracting young families, offering new recreation opportunities and increasing attendance in provincial parks. “By increasing user fees in campgrounds, campers who use the parks system are helping to
keep it sustainable for future generations to enjoy,” Polak said. She noted that over the past five years, BC Parks has invested approximately $60 million in park facilities, and has approximately $700 million of investment in infrastructure that requires maintenance.
Fee increases are nominal to ensure camping remains affordable for families and visitors enjoying B.C.’s world class parks system one of the largest protected areas systems in the world.
See CAMPGROUND, Page 5