Snowpack levels in B.C. above normal, except Okanagan: River Forecast Centre
Global News
Snowpack levels across B.C. are 115 per cent of normal. The data ranges from 84 per cent in the Okanagan to 140 per cent in the Upper Columbia.
If it seems winter in B.C. has been snowier than usual, that’s because it is.
Data released by the B.C. River Forecast Centre this week shows that, on average as of Jan. 1, snowpack levels across the province are 115 per cent of normal.
According to the River Forecast Centre, the data is from its 51 manual and 86 automated snow-weather stations. The average ranges from a low of 84 per cent in the Okanagan to 140 per cent in the Upper Columbia.
Normal snowpacks (90 to 110 per cent) were measured for the Upper Fraser West, Lower Fraser, South Thompson, Boundary, Similkameen, South Coast, Vancouver Island, Skagit, Peace and Stikine regions.
Slightly above-normal snowpacks (110-120 per cent) were recorded in the North Thompson and Skeena-Nass.
The River Forecast Centre said regions with above-normal snowpacks (120-130 per cent) were the Upper Fraser East, Middle Fraser, West Kootenay and East Kootenay, while the Central Coast and Upper Columbia had well above-normal snowpacks (130-plus per cent).
Notably, the entire Fraser River basin is at 110 per cent.
For the Okanagan, last year’s snowpack at this time was much higher, at 132 per cent.