(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Agriculture Canada lists the area of the Okanagan from the south slopes of Kelowna to just north of Vernon as being in a severe drought.

“Below-normal temperatures and well below-normal precipitation defined much of British Columbia’s weather through March,” it says on its website. “Many areas reported extremely low precipitation amounts this month, including in the Southern Interior region which recorded less than 10% of average March precipitation.”

Kamloops is shown on the ministry's online map as abnormally dry while the rest of the Okanagan is listed as moderate drought on a six-point scale that peaks at exceptional drought.

The latest snowpack readings show the Okanagan valley at 113% of normal and the Thompson region between 82% and 97% of normal.

READ MORE: B.C. seasonal forecast suggests long cool spring, flood risk in high snowpack regions

“The drought is at low level, meaning there hasn’t been a lot of rainfall here for several months,” Bob Hrasko, general manager of Black Mountain Irrigation District in Kelowna, told iNFOnews.ca. “So, yes, we’re in a drought locally. In terms of the water supply from above, we expect to fill our reservoirs this spring when the snow melts.”

While it’s dry, water for orchards in Black Mountain won’t be turned on until next week and he doesn’t expect a big demand for it this early in the season.

Hrasko hasn’t seen any increase in demand for residential water as many people are holding off watering out of concern that the sub-zero nights may damage irrigation systems if they’re turned on.

“The public has been careful watching the temperatures overnight,” he said.

While daytime highs are expected to reach the mid- to upper-teens later this week, it can still drop below freezing for the next couple of mornings.

The Environment Canada forecast doesn’t predict any higher than a 40% chance of showers in Kamloops over the next week. There's is a 60% chance of showers in Kelowna on Sunday.

Agriculture Canada reports that 73% of B.C. was considered abnormally dry or in moderate to severe drought, including 93% of the region’s agricultural land.

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