By Corey Fischer

Record Snowpack Grows to 206% of Normal

May 7, 2018 | 2:51 PM

The growing snowpack in much of BC has created new concerns about flooding this spring.

Dave Campbell from the River Forecast Centre says its increased significantly since last month, to a provincial average of 168% of normal, up from 127% in April.

“If you look at the Okanagan, the snow basin index for May 1st is 206% of normal. That’s the highest recorded snow basin index we’ve got. We’ve been recording these since 1980,” Campbell told a teleconference.

The levels range from a high of 264% of normal in Upper Fraser West, to a low of 69% in Stikine.

Shaun Reimer from the province’s Public Safety and Protection Department, says it means an extra 225 centimetres of water on Okanagan Lake to deal with before the end of July.

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“As of now, based on today’s forecast, we would expect to go over our full pool elevation somewhere in the line of 12 to 20 centimetres. Certainly that’s a far cry from where we were last year when we went 76 cm’s over.”

Reimer told the media, Okanagan Lake is rising about 5 cm’s a day, and is 72 cm’s from reaching full pool.

The experts say rain forecast for the middle of this week — combined with the snow melt — could make for a challenging week in the Interior.

by Corey Fischer