Current snowpack levels are signalling a low risk of flooding this year.
David Campbell, Head of the BC River Forecast Centre, says we're at 79 per cent of normal levels- a level not seen in several years.
“For the Okanagan, it’s one of the lower February values we’ve seen in the last 5 or 6 years,” he said “Last year it was 122 per cent of normal. We’ve typically been above 80 per cent for the last 5 or 6 years”
Campbell says the normal level is based on a 30 year average.
The current provincial average is also 79 per cent of normal.
A lower snowpack level means a lower risk of flooding- at least for now.
“We certainly see diminished seasonal flood risk with that lower than average,” Campbell says “but when it comes to the melt season there is always that risk, particularly for it to get either extreme rapid melt or combined with heavy rain fall”
He adds that the levels in April, when we see the peak amount of snow, will give a better indication of what to expect in the spring.