Recent B.C. snow welcome, but long-term drought concerns linger

Lower-than-usual snowfall resulting in a thin snowpack has heightened concerns about another year of drought, with spring on the way in B.C.

The recent blast of wintry weather has been good news for skiers and snowboarders, but officials say it’s not enough to allay ongoing drought concerns.

The province faced significant drought conditions last year, and saw unusually dry conditions heading into the winter. Lower-than-usual snowfall resulting in a thin snowpack has only heightened those concerns, with spring on the way.

“Even with the recent snow, our snowpack is still well below normal and the prospect of heading into a spring that may be warmer than normal and perhaps seeing that snow melt earlier than normal is concerning from a drought perspective,” Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau told Global News.

“As we look out further into the rest of March and into April, a lot of our long-range forecasts are still calling for warmer than normal conditions, particularly through the months of April and May.”

Despite the worries, the situation in the Lower Mainland has shown marked improvement, according to Metro Vancouver watersheds and environment director Heidi Walsh.

About a month ago, the region had accumulated a snowpack of just 30 per cent of its historical average. That’s jumped up to 50 per cent with recent snowfall.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a drop in the bucket. It’s pretty good, but we’d still like to see some more because we are still only at about half of our historical average,” she said.

“We’ve got records for about the last 75 years and we’re at the seventh lowest level in that last 75 years.”