A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the Upper Columbia, East Kootenay and Elk Valley regions for Friday afternoon (July 29).
A severe thunderstorm watch is typically issued when conditions can produce weather phenomenon such as large hail, damaging winds or torrential rainfall.
The severe thunderstorm watch comes amid a scorching heat wave across much of the province, as lightning was blamed for a number of fires that sparked across the Southeast Fire Centre a week ago.