File photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters Staff

By Liam Verster

90% Snowpack

Regional snowpack near normal, but down on an annual basis

Jan 27, 2026 | 10:48 AM

The Okanagan entered 2026 with a near normal snowpack, though there was some year-over-year declines.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre’s Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin stated the Okanagan’s snowpack was 90 per cent of normal on January 1, 2026.

While relatively close to the normal value, that was down from the same point of time in 2025 when the Okanagan’s snowpack was 102 per cent of normal.

Though the Okanagan’s snowpack was down on an annual basis, the province as a whole had a deeper snowpack than the year before.

The report stated the combined snowpacks across B.C. were at 107 per cent of normal on January 1, up 20 per cent from the 87 per cent value recorded at the same point in 2025.

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The snowpacks for other area basins were recorded as follows as of January 1:

• South Thompson: 93 per cent of normal (-7 per cent)
• Lower Thompson: 110 per cent of normal (-23 per cent)
• North Thompson: 103 per cent of normal (+3 per cent)
• Upper Columbia: 123 per cent of normal (+37 per cent)
• Similkameen: 146 per cent of normal (+78 per cent)
• Boundary: 132 per cent of normal (+17 per cent)

The River Forecast Centre said snowpack development across B.C. began with a “generally solid start” due to early-season snowfall in October, compounded by near normal snowfall through November and an “active month for storm systems across the province” in December. The first week of January also saw “multiple moderate storm systems move through the province,” which helped keep the snowpack accumulation close to the seasonal rates.

The agency noted that nearly half of B.C.’s annual mountain snowpack accumulated by early January, but seasonal snowpacks can still change based on weather patterns.