Environment Canada says some regions in Northeast BC have seen record setting drought conditions to start the summer.
“In Fort Nelson in particular, it is exasperated by a dry spring. We had the driest spring ever, and the records go back to 1938,” said Matt Loney, Environment Canada Meteorologist.
While Loney said the summer months are usually the rainiest of the year, he added that Fort Nelson had the driest June ever recorded. He said the region has only seen 30 millimeters of rain since March.
The Fort Nelson region is ranked 5 out of 5 on the drought scale, they second highest rating in BC is a 3.
The province said the Peace Region is currently sitting at ‘drought level 3’. The region was listed at level 4 earlier this year, but precipitation during the month of June lowered the rating.
“For the BC Peace region, it’s been the second driest on record, but June actually recovered a little bit towards normal,” said Matt Loney.
Loney explained that the Northeast region has been dealing with lack of precipitation for a while now. He said the region is “still battling back to normal” since June 2022.
Looking ahead, Loney said that the Fort Nelson area may see rain more regularly in the next few weeks, which would help alleviate drought conditions slightly. Loney added the forecast for the Peace Region shows mostly dry conditions for the summer.
The drought is also affecting farmers and ranchers. “Not having that water available in the soil, that’s certainly going to be an issue for crops,” Loney explained. “You can’t get the proper yields if you’re consistently in need for moisture,” he added.
It also has an impact on wildfires in the Northeast Region. Loney said to measure wildfire conditions, Environment Canada looks at three factors, which are dryness, lightning strikes and wind. “Up in the very Northeast part of the province, we are still running precipitation deficits and there are still fires ongoing,” said Loney.
