By Cheryl Jahn

Snow pack levels lowest in 50 years

Apr 10, 2024 | 3:34 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – “As of April 1st, the average of all snow measurements across BC is 63 percent-of-normal.” That was the message from Jonathan Boyd of the BC River Forecast Centre. “Dropping from March 1st, when the value was 66 percent-of-normal and significantly lower than last year, when April 1st 2023 was 88 percent-of-normal.”

It was a bleak picture of what’s to come in terms of drought this summer. The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship released a statement shortly after the briefing, noting “these low levels and the impacts of year-over-year drought are creating significantly higher drought risk for this spring and summer.”

Not a surprise to local hydrologist Dr. Stephen Dery.

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“That situation has just been exacerbated over the last month with very low amounts of precipitation in northern B.C. and across the province. We have been in this persistent drought now for about two years. And if conditions continue being dry, we might experience another summer drought. So that’s the concern I think a lot of people have.”

And it has everyone on high alert for forest fires.