Severe thunderstorms in forecast for B.C. Interior

This photo, shared on Twitter by the BC Wildfire Service on May 18, 2023, shows lightning during a storm.

Residents in B.C.'s central and southern Interior are being warned to brace for the possibility of severe thunderstorms bringing with them the potential for flooding, nickel-sized hail, and lightning-sparked wildfires.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the Shuswap and the North Okanagan, including Vernon. The weather agency says that a warning of this kind is issued when a storm is "likely to produce or is producing large hail, damaging winds, (and/or) torrential rainfall."

Severe thunderstorm watches are in effect for the Nicola Valley, the Central Okanagan, including Kelowna, and the South Okanagan - including Penticton. A watch is issued when "atmospheric conditions are favourable" for the development of storms that could bring dangerous amounts of hail, wind, and rain, according to ECCC.

Air quality advisories are also in effect for these regions due to wildfire smoke.

The BC Wildfire Service, in a tweet, said the amount of rain the incoming storms will bring is "difficult to predict" and that the storms rolling in amid unseasonably hot and dry conditions means "lightning-ignited wildfires are possible."

The fire danger rating is listed as “extreme” for the northeastern corner of the province, where all four wildfires of note in B.C. are currently burning.

The danger rating is “high” for most of the rest of northern and central B.C., including the north and central coasts and patches of the southern Interior.

With files from The Canadian Press