Tale of 2 provinces as B.C. continues to record below-average snowpack [Video]

The B.C. River Forecast Centre says the province’s snowpack was around 79 per cent of normal levels on April 1, with fears of drought continuing into the spring season.

B.C. has recorded a below-average snowpack in the last two monthly updates, with low snow accumulation historically associated with the risk of drought.

The provincial river forecast centre says, however, that snowpack accumulation in March varied widely throughout the province, with the southern half getting a lot of precipitation and the northern half recording historically low levels.

Its report notes that there’s a diminished risk of snowmelt-related flooding this spring, with the April snowpack update considered the standard bulletin that is compared to previous years.

On that front, B.C. is in far better shape than last April, when the spring snowpack levels were the lowest on record after years of drought.

Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the river forecast centre, said it was possible more …