Snowpack in B.C at record low, Okanagan down as well

The snowpack level for B.C. has dropped to a record low, while the Okanagan and many other basins continue to see levels well below average.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre said, as of April 1, the province’s snowpack was extremely low, averaging at 63 per cent of normal.

As well as being down by more than third of the normal snowpack, the recent figure was down from the 66 per cent average recorded in March, and was well below the 88 per cent average recorded at the same time in 2023, and was the lowest on record for that specific date.

“The 63 per cent of normal for the province on April 1 is the lowest since 1970 [which is as far back as reliable data can be traced],” Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist for the River Forecast Centre, stated.

“Previously, the low years were 2015, which was 66 per cent or normal; 1981, 68 per cent; and in 1977, it was 70 per cent of normal.”

In the Okanagan, the April 1 snowpack level was recorded at 73 per cent of normal, down from 80 per cent the previous month.

The Northwest was the only basin with a snowpack level above average, coming in at 105 per cent of normal. The Stikine basin had the second highest snowpack at 80 per cent of normal, followed by the South Thompson at 79, the East Kootenay and Boundary basins at 76 per cent each, and then the Okanagan.

The lowest snowpack was recorded in the Middle Fraser’s Chilcotin sub-basin, which was zero per cent of normal April 1. The Skagit basin had the second lowest snowpack in the province at 27 per cent of normal, followed by Vancouver Island at 49, the Central Coast at 50, and the Quesnel sub-basin in the Middle Fraser at 52 per cent.

Boyd added the April snowpack survey is considered the “premier bulletin for assessing the year’s seasonal snowpack” as 95 per cent of the season’s snow should have fallen by that date.

The report noted that though temperatures throughout B.C. were near the normal levels in March, the El Niño system resulted in drier weather than normal, especially in the Interior and in Northern B.C. Only Vancouver Island saw regular precipitation levels in March.

The River Forecast Centre noted the storms in early March boosted snow accumulation in the southern regions of B.C., but the rest of the month saw relatively dry conditions across the province.

It was also stated the province has experienced below normal cumulative precipitation over the past year.

As the snowpack levels were at historic lows as of April 1, Boyd said that translates to a low snow melt flood-hazard this spring, especially in the larger systems such as the Thompson, Fraser or Skeena rivers.

“A silver lining of course of this low snowpack is that areas that have been impacted consistently by flooding in recent years will have a lower risk this spring,” Boyd explained, though warned that this does not mean there’s no risk of flooding this year.

“It is still possible for adverse weather to cause flooding in the spring, sudden and extreme rainfall or persistent periods of heavy rainfall can still cause flooding, especially smaller- and medium-sized rivers in the Interior. The spring is typically the wet season for the Interior.”

The province has a Getting Ready Before a Flood webpage people can access for information on how to prepare for and respond to flooding events.

The River Centre said the low snowpack levels should also result in low seasonal volume runoffs, with Boyd pointing to Okanagan Lake being one of the sights to see a significant decline this spring.

With the low snowpack and drier than normal weather this winter, the persistence of drought impacts from previous years, and the upcoming seasonal weather forecast, Boyd said the province could be facing another drought in 2024, though that is not a guarantee.

“The causes of droughts in B.C. are multi-faceted. While snowpack can play an important role in areas, other factors such as the rate of snow melt, the spring and summer temperatures, short- and long-term precipitation trends, they may all have equal or greater importance in the emergence of droughts this summer,” Boyd stated.

He added the River Forecast Centre won’t be able to provide full details on drought levels and seasonal expectations until after the snowpacks have melted.

The final full snowpack report of the season will be presented in early May.