September 2025 in the Okanagan was for the century-old weather record books.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton experienced their warmest September ever, with all three cities logging mean temperatures of close to four degrees Celsius warmer than normal.
"It really goes to show how much heat we saw in September," said ECCC meteorologist Bobby Sekhon. "It was definitely exceptional to see such elevated temperatures for a large part of the month."
Kelowna recorded a mean temperature last month of 19.5 C, up from its normal mark of 15.7 C.
Vernon and Penticton, meanwhile, experienced mean temperatures of 19.6 C and 19.2 C, respectively. Both cities also typically see marks of 15 C in September.
Records in all three communities have been kept since the early 1900s, according to ECCC.
"What really stood out to me was that it was the warmest September on record for all three Okanagan sites," Sekhon said. "It was an extended summer, but we also saw wildfire concerns linger longer than we usually see, so there are impacts with that, of course."
Daily heat records were set across the Okanagan last month, including on Sept. 17, when Kelowna, Penticton, Summerland and Vernon all experienced daily highs of 31 C.
The "unseasonably high temperatures," according to ECCC, were felt due to a strong ridge of high pressure over B.C.
September's extended heat in the Okanagan was also met with a drier-than-normal month, Sekhon added.
With 1.9 millimetres of precipitation, Kelowna experienced its fourth driest September ever. The city has normally seen around 32 millimetres of precipitation throughout the year's ninth month.
Penticton and Vernon saw 5.3 millimetres and 8.7 millimetres of precipitation, respectively, both seeing less than 25 per cent of their normal marks.
"September is not normally a very wet month for the Okanagan, so we don't really rely on it for making a lot of the precipitation for the year," Sekhon said. "Regardless, we saw a fairly dry September for 2025 here."
Daytime temperatures in Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton are expected to hover between 15 C to 18 C from Oct. 5 to 8.
Regional air quality statements issued by ECCC last week due to wildfire smoke are no longer in effect, as of Oct. 2.
