Most agencies are predicting an early, dry spring for B.C., including this recent report from the Weather Network (see this link). Our snow packs are well below normal for this time of year, but if the spring abruptly turns wet…
Blog Archives
Weather Report – January 2019
According to the snow pillows and snow surveys, the Okanagan is slightly below normal. In a typical year, we have about 55% of the annual snow accumulation by Jan. 15, but the graphs below show that actual amount vary sharply…
Okanagan Drought Bulletin – August 24, 2018
OKANAGAN MOVES TO DROUGHT LEVEL 2 AS HOT, DRY SUMMER CONTINUES The B.C. Government has elevated the Okanagan to a Level 2 drought rating as a precautionary measure. While Okanagan water purveyors are generally experiencing average supply conditions, regional drought…
Okanagan Drought Bulletin – June 26, 2018
OKANAGAN REMAINS IN DROUGHT LEVEL 1 BUT HOT, DRY SUMMER EXPECTED The B.C. Government has elevated most basins in the province to a Level 2 drought rating, but the Okanagan remains in Level 1 based on current water supply. That…
Weather Report – May 2018
The seasonal forecast is for a hotter than normal summer, with near-normal precipitation in June (our rainiest month on average), which could slow down the fire season. If we miss the June rains, it could be a very dry summer.
Weather Report – April 2018
While the snow levels are worrisome, the most important weather factor for flooding is how fast it melts. The La Nina forecast is for a cool spring, which hopefully will bring the snow down slowly and later in the season.…
Posted in Articles, Drought Updates, Featured
Tags: april 2018, Drought Update, la nina, weather report
Tags: april 2018, Drought Update, la nina, weather report
Weather Report – March 2018
We continue to have an above-average snow year, with the current levels in Mission Creek approaching the peak multi-year average amount for late-April. This means that if it stopped snowing today, we’d have close to average snow-water available on the…
Weather Report – February 2018
The Mission Creek and Brenda Mines snow pillows have mostly tracked the historical averages for snow-water, but were boosted by all the January precipitation. It’s interesting to compare this year’s snow (blue line) with last year’s snow (green line). In…
Posted in Articles, Drought Updates, Featured
Tags: Brenda Mines Snow Pillow, Mission Creek Snow Pillow, weather, weather report
Tags: Brenda Mines Snow Pillow, Mission Creek Snow Pillow, weather, weather report
Okanagan Drought Bulletin 2 – September 1, 2017
OKANAGAN ESCALATES TO DROUGHT LEVEL 3 The B.C. Government has declared a Level 3 drought rating for the Okanagan. It’s a year of extremes in the Okanagan. Between June and August, Kelowna broke its record for LEAST SUMMER RAINFALL, with…
Posted in Articles, Drought Updates, Featured, Media Releases
Tags: Drought Level Three, Drought Update
Tags: Drought Level Three, Drought Update
Okanagan Drought Bulletin 1 – August 22, 2017
OKANAGAN IN DROUGHT LEVEL 2 There has been some confusion recently regarding what drought level the Province of B.C. has declared for the Okanagan. While some regions around us have been moved to Drought Level 3, the Okanagan, as of…
Update #7 – August 2017
Flood Review The City of West Kelowna, and the Regional District of Central Okanagan have called on the B.C. Minister of FLNRORD to review all the factors leading to the flooding of Okanagan Lake in 2017. According to the Snow…
Update #6 – June 2017
Weather Report The following forecast is from Accuweather (http://tinyurl.com/y8tmvkuj), which is in line with Environment Canada (https://weather.gc.ca/saisons/prob_e.html). British Columbia: Summer is expected to be drier than normal for most areas, including Vancouver. The exceptions may be the BC Rockies the…
Okanagan snow survey highlights
Okanagan Snow Pack: 151% normal Streamflow: Extreme flow and flood levels Flood risk expected to remain elevated over next one to two weeks. Current advisories, warnings, freshet information, hydrometric monitoring, river modelling and snow data are available on the River…
Update #5 – May 2017
Weather Update Okanagan snow packs are now above average. All indications are that we should expect a relatively “normal” or average water year, although there are some concerns about flooding if we have a sudden warming in May, with a…
Update #4 – April 2017
Weather update Okanagan snow packs are still slightly below average. As of March 22, the Mission Creek and Brenda Mines snow pillows were 80% of normal. All indications are that we should expect a relatively “normal” or average water year.…
