After near-record snowpack levels this winter, Environment Canada says April brought favourable conditions to help ease the ongoing drought situation in northeast B.C.
Meteorologist Brian Proctor says cities like Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. had about 27 centimetres of snow on the ground at the beginning of April.
He says the snow melted at a pace of one to two centimetres a day, and by the middle of the month, most of it was gone.
“We really had a best-case scenario for most of the month. We had a gradual melt — it wasn’t overwhelming and it didn’t hit really hard, really quick,” Proctor said.
A gradual melt allows water more time to infiltrate the soil and recharge moisture levels.
According to the province’s drought map, the current drought level remains four on a scale of five in the East Peace Region, which includes Dawson Creek. In other areas such as Fort St. John, the drought rating has maintained a level of two.
Proctor says colder overnight lows will be needed into the summer for that trend to continue.
However, he says the long-range forecast is pointing toward warmer and drier conditions in the coming months. This week, the forecast calls for temperatures nearing 20 degrees.