Last weekend’s storm (massive rain, massive snow, more massive rain, then a freeze) caused the ice pans to block the water flow from further up-river, resulting in a flood. Parts of the nearby town have been evacuated and other parts are completely under water.
Penticton (and most of British Columbia) has had a much colder winter than usual. Heck, over the last six months, it’s had unbelievably bad weather, period.
First there were heat waves (referred to as “heat domes” by the media). No matter what they were called, they were bad. I will never forget seeing on June 28 a temperature of 46°C (115°F) on our deck. In the shade.
Then there were the fires. Almost all of the town of Lytton was consumed by them. Throughout British Columbia, the air quality was terrible and the heat unrelenting.
Then autumn brought intense rain accompanied by high winds. The rain saturated the soil, the wind pulled the fire-dead trees from the ground, and this lead to extreme flooding and landslides, especially in the lower mainland. Dozens of landslides swept vehicles from the roads and trapped people and communities in isolated pockets.
British Columbia’s Coquihalla Highway Photo Courtesy of Jonathan Hayward/ The Canadian Press
The Coquihalla Highway, a main four-to-six lane artery that carries supplies and people through the mountains, was seriously damaged in 20 separate places. The community of Abbotsford, a major supplier of dairy and other agricultural products and situated in the lower mainland, suffered extreme flooding and enormous economic damage.
Now we’re being hit by record-breaking cold temperatures with freezing rain, snow and slush. The media are doing reports on how people can help to save the non-migratory hummingbirds from freezing to death. According to the scientists, this is the tip of the (melting) iceberg because these “weather events” are going to get worse.
Question is, what are we doing to mitigate this situation? And, what are we doing to get ready for what’s coming?
Here’s Stuart’s latest book. I have bought it but haven’t read it yet although my husband has. He thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s available on Amazon. Please visit Stuart’s site for further info.
It arrived with a bang. Last night there was a sudden drop to -25C, the blowing and falling snow erupted into a fury, and I scrambled my parka out of the closet and the plug-in for the truck out of the storage room.
During my last trip home to the Okanagan I found a number of roses still bravely blooming in Penticton’s public rose garden. It was very overcast with occasional misty rain and a very sharp wind.
November 4, 2021
Some were faring better than others, but I was surprised at how resilient they were.
Given how hard-hit British Columbia has been by heat waves, forest fires, floods and landslides, all in less than five months, we may all need to become much more resilient than we have been.
I am heading to the Northwest Territories, leaving behind my beautiful but smoky Okanagan Valley; we are presently socked in by smoke from a huge fire to the north of us.
An alarming post from Wayne at Tofino Photography. The bears around his area of Vancouver Island aren’t getting enough to eat and as a result are not giving birth to any cubs. Please stop by his blog to read about his concerns.