Drought conditions still impacting PG as we head into winter

Dr. Stephen Déry, a professor of environmental sciences at UNBC, says that precipitation levels at the Prince George Airport were sitting at 55% of average levels, over the last 12 months. He says that when we have a large deficit of precipitation, it will infiltrate the soil. Dry soils that will have impacts on vegetation. Déry also mentions have heard that wells have gone dry due to the fact that there has been little or no water replenishment over the past year.

With a deficit of 55% of the usual amount of precipitation over the last 12 months, several months of above average precipitation are needed, says Déry, to replenish the soil, rivers and lakes.

“That’s about 270 millimeters of precipitation we need to make up just to be back at average. And that’s a lot of rain … We just had February that was above average.” – Dr. Stephen Déry, Professor of Environmental Sciences, UNBC

We are currently in an El Nino cycle, which means that we may not get as much snow as we need in the winter time.

“El Nino usually does not mean a good snowpack for British Columbia, usually means above average temperature and lower than average precipitation.” – Dr. Stephen Déry, Professor of Environmental Sciences, UNBC

Atmospheric river like precipitation, like we saw in the fall of 2021, would be needed to replenish low river and water basin levels in Prince George and across the North, and with the potential for a warmer winter, we may be dealing with drought conditions for some time to come.

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Twitter: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com

by Adam Berls

Drought conditions still impacting PG as we head into winter

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