Latest news with #snowpack
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
B.C. facing more adverse drought conditions this year with warm, dry weather expected
British Columbia's minister in charge of water is asking residents to do everything they can to conserve the resource in the coming weeks, as the province faces elevated drought conditions in the southern Interior. Randene Neill, the minister of water, land and resource stewardship, says they want people to think about saving water wherever possible, such as watering lawns less frequently and fixing leaky faucets, as up to 70 per cent of water is used in residences in some regions. The conservation drive comes as this year's drought season is expected to be more severe than last, despite the recent rainfall that temporarily alleviated parched conditions in some areas in the northeast. David Campbell, with the B.C. River Forecast Centre, says the province had only 79 per cent of its normal snowpack level by April, and the snow season ended a few weeks earlier than usual. He says the situation this year has been made worse by a warmer spring compared with last year, where a more gradual snow melt helped to alleviate drought conditions later in the year. The centre says that while recent rain has improved conditions near Fort Nelson in the northeast, the Nicola, Okanagan and other regions in the southern Interior are seeing worsening conditions and declining streamflow, with little rain in the forecast. "While some of the recent rainfall has been beneficial, we really need to see much more sustained, longer-term, on the order of months or even a season of wet weather, to really make up the deficit that we've seen over the long range," Campbell said. He adds that Environment Canada's seasonal forecast for B.C. calls for an increasing chance of a warmer summer, and there's a possibility that drier conditions could be present moving forward, particularly in the Okanagan and the Kootenay regions. Neill says the province is monitoring streamflow levels and will only issue temporary protection orders "as a very last resort," and voluntary water conservation efforts are not enough. "Though we cannot control drought, we do know that early action will make a big difference when it comes to water scarcity impacts or the amount of water available for ecological and human needs," Neill says. "And that's why we always begin with a voluntary approach. "My message to all of those people [with high residential water usage] is that what you do makes a significant difference to the amount of water the whole community has, and we have to remember that we have share our water not with other residents but farmers, agriculture, industry, all of those things." The province is also introducing a new method for tracking drought, saying the changes are needed because the current drought index oversimplifies the conditions facing local regions. It says the new system addressing water scarcity aligns with drought measurements in other jurisdictions and allows for a more precise understanding of climate trends across the region. It will also measure different needs, including the drinking water supply, ecological health, fish population survival, food production and security.
CTV News
24-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Low snowpack levels suggest B.C. needs a wet and cool June
Snowpack levels in B.C. are falling below the usual amounts expected for this time of the year. What does that mean for summer water restrictions?
CTV News
24-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
B.C. snowpack lower than normal
Snowpack levels in B.C. are falling below the usual amounts expected for this time of the year. What does that mean for summer water restrictions?
CBC
23-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Early snowmelt in B.C. points to elevated drought hazards
The B.C. River Forecast Centre says conditions in British Columbia points toward elevated drought hazards in the province. B.C.'s snowpack sits at 61 per cent of normal levels as of May 15, the centre wrote in its latest report, down from 71 per cent on May 1. Those lower levels are a reflection of the fact that snow is melting earlier than normal, the report said, primarily because April was warmer than normal. Thirty-six per cent of B.C.'s snowpack had melted by May 15, the report said. In a typical year, 21 per cent of the seasonal snowpack has melted by mid-May. Darius Mahdavi, CBC's science specialist, said early snowmelt can lead to less snow to feed reservoirs later in the season. "The snow is sort of like a backup for the rain," Mahdavi said. "If we don't get rain, but we still have snowpack melting it sort of can compensate for that a bit. If we don't have the snowpack, there's no backup." The centre said there is no elevated flood hazard given current snowpack levels, but higher flows are possible if there is heavy rainfall. A provincial drought monitoring survey issued Thursday said cooler and wetter weather over the past week has improved drought conditions and boosted streamflows, especially in the province's southern coastal areas, but said rises in streamflow due to snowmelt can mask drought conditions. "Streamflows may decline quickly once snowpack has fully melted if significant rainfall does not occur," the survey said. Mahdavi says drought conditions in the northeastern corner of B.C. are the most worrying, with the basins at Fort Nelson and North Peace at drought Level 3 and the East Peace basin at Level 4 on a scale that ranges from zero to five. The survey paints a slightly more optimistic picture for western B.C., Mahdavi says, with drought conditions improving in the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.
Bloomberg
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Bloomberg
Record Pace of Snowmelt in US West Threatens Another Drought
Takeaways NEW Widespread heat across the US West is causing the snowpack to melt at a record-breaking pace, risking water shortages and an early start to wildfire season. Parts of the region spanning the West Coast to the lower Mountain West have less than half of the normal amount of snow typical at this time of year, the US National Integrated Drought Information System said in a statement. Some have nothing. Only parts of southern Oregon and a few places in Northern California are holding onto above-average snow pack.
