The first snowpack numbers of 2023 are quite a bit lower than usual for this time of year.
On January 1st, the Upper Fraser East basin’s snowpack was at 73 per cent of normal for this time of year, while the Upper Fraser West’s was only at half.
BC River Forecast Centre Hydrologist Jonathan Boyd said while December was a cold and snowy month, it wasn’t the type of snow that caused snow in the mountains.
“They tend to occur from wetter systems, maybe rain events that move in through the coast first,” Boyd explained.
Boyd added they’ve been seeing a general downward trend throughout the province.
“It’s been relatively dry throughout the province, it hasn’t necessarily been the typical snow accumulation,” he said.
“There’s a storm coming for [Thursday] and Friday for the south coast, but it’s not really going to have any impact for that part of the Cariboo and Prince George area, so at least for the near future, getting into mid-January, it’s looking like these numbers may be lower than what they are right now.”
Boyd added it’s too early to tell what will happen in the spring.