Spring was very un-spring-like this year for B.C.'s Interior, leaving Kamloops cool and dry during a typically warm and moist season.
While it wasn't record-setting in Kamloops, it was the driest spring on record for at least four B.C. communities, says Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan: Kelowna, Prince George, Comox and Williams Lake.
"Kelowna was at 50 per cent of normal over the season, and Prince George 51.3 per cent of normal," he says. "Those are pretty stark numbers."
Kamloops was at around 60 per cent of its normal springtime snow and rain, which wasn't record-setting but still much drier than normal, Castellan says.
"It was actually kind of crazy how dry March was," he notes, pointing out how only 8.4 mm of precipitation fell.
On top of that, Kamloops just had a very dry May. While April wasn't particularly dry, it was at 81 per cent of normal, so it wasn't making up for the dry months either. Castellan says there's been a long dry trend recently.
While the big news is how dry the spring has been, it's also colder than usual, despite the hot end to May.
"May was warmer, but not enough," Castellan says. "The second half of February and most of March were quite cold and didn't have much in the way of precipitation."
He says the cold start to March was enough of a chill to weigh the temperature down and bring the spring average for Kamloops 0.5 C below normal.
