Snow pack big and could be getting bigger in the Okanagan | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Mostly Cloudy  11.0°C

Kelowna News

Snow pack big and could be getting bigger in the Okanagan

Water is flowing quickly in Mission Creek.

An already large snowpack in the Okanagan and Similkameen regions is likely to grow through April and into May increasing the risk of local flooding.

In what it calls a key measure, the B.C. River Forecast Centre released its April snow survey today showing the snowpack in both regions at 152 per cent of normal for this time of year, the highest in the province.

That snowpack level ties with April of 1999 as the highest since 1980, the report notes.

Seasonal volume runoff forecasts are also high for the Okanagan and Similkameen both sitting above 130 per cent.

Both the North and South Thompson regions are at near-normal snow pack levels.

The forecast centre notes for the first time the hydrological effects of the 2017 B.C. wildfires in watersheds throughout the province.

Many of the regions affected by last summer’s wildfires have above normal snow packs this spring, the report says.

Despite the enlarged snow pack, the forecast centre says intense or prolonged rainfall and extreme temperatures during the upcoming freshet will still play a pivotal role in whether spring flooding occurs.

Extensive flooding occured around Okanagan Lake and other Southern Interior Lakes in the spring of 2017.

The forecast centre’s next freshet report is scheduled for May 7, 2018.


To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2018
iNFOnews

  • Popular kamloops News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile