BC’s River Forecast Centre said snowpack levels in Northeast BC are encouraging, especially compared to 2024.
As of February 1, 2025, the snowpack for Fort Nelson and the surrounding Liard region is at 108 per cent of normal. That is the highest of any region in the province.
Compare that to this time last year when the snowpack was at 67 percent and that is a 41 per cent increase.
As for the Peace Region, the snowpack is 83 per cent of normal as of February 1st. That represents a 5 per cent increase from 2024.
The BC River Forecast Centre said as far as the ongoing drought situation in Northeast BC, these numbers are relatively healthy.
Jonathan Boyd with the BC River Forecast Centre said, “Seeing the snow pack on the healthier side in the Liard and Peace regions is a positive sign as far as next year’s drought. But the rain in the spring will be the main factor in helping alleviate the drought conditions in the area.”
The average snowpack for the entire province is 72 per cent. That is a large drop from January when the number was 87 per cent. However it much better than the historic lows in 2024 when the snowpack measured 61 per cent of normal across B-C.
British Columbia’s latest snow and water supply bulletin says it was “extremely dry” across much of the province last month, with average snowpack measuring 28 per cent below normal as of Feb. 1.
The bulletin, release by from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, says last month fell within the top 10 driest Januaries across much of the province, while Abbotsford, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Cranbrook and Chetwynd were in the top five since record-keeping began.
It says a moderate precipitation event over the southern half of the province in the last few days of January prevented several locations from reaching new record lows for snow.
With files from The Canadian Press.