B.C.'s average snowpack for April lowest in more than 50 years

B.C.'s average snowpack is the lowest it's been in more than 50 years, the latest snow conditions and water supply bulletin released Wednesday says.

B.C.'s average snowpack is the lowest it's been in more than 50 years, the latest snow conditions and water supply bulletin released Wednesday says.

Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the River Forecast Centre, said the province's snowpack measured at 63 per cent of normal, as of April 1. This time last year, the provincial average was 88 per cent.

According to the River Forecast Centre's report, the 2024 snowpack measurement marks the lowest since 1970, at least. Data before that, however, is incomplete.

Boyd explained that, by April 1, 95 per cent of the province's seasonal snowpack has typically accumulated.

"It is possible for snowpack to continue to climb into May if it is a cold and wet spring," he said, adding the province was under El Nino conditions in the fall and winter, which usually leads to warmer-than-usual weather.

Boyd said the low snowpack means the flood risk from snow melt is low, especially along larger river systems.

"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," he said. "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."