Snow conditions commentary

A bi-weekly commentary of snow conditions based on readings from the B.C. Automated Snow Weather Station (ASWS) network is published during the snow season.

May 1, 2024

April temperatures were near normal in B.C. In general, precipitation was below normal to near normal throughout the province. The single exception was Fort Nelson which measured above normal precipitation for the month. 

A complete listing of Automated Snow Weather Stations (ASWS) expressed as percent of long-term median for the entire length of record is found in the ASWS Weekly Summary (PDF, 553KB)*. Hyperlinks to interactive plots have recently been added for each ASWS in the table.

*Note: These are not the official snow basin indices. 

At lower elevations, short periods of warm weather in early April rapidly melted the shallower than normal snowpack. The 2F18P Brenda Mine ASWS melted to 0 mm Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) earlier than ever measured (29 years). Many other lower elevation stations melted rapidly this year, but were not as noteworthy due to relatively short periods of record (<10 years). At higher elevations, the cooler temperatures in the second half of April delayed the onset of snowmelt, especially compared to last year, as evidenced by the 2D08P East Creek ASWS in the West Kootenay.

Eight AWSW measured record low SWE for May 1, 2024. These include 1A17P Revolution Creek (35 years), 1C41P Yanks Peak (27 years), 1F06P Celista Mountain (17 years), 2A06P Mount Revelstoke (30 years), 2A21P Molson Creek (41 years), 2B06P Barnes Creek (31 years), 4A02P Pine Pass (31 years), 4B17P Tsai Creek (26 years).

The provincial average for all ASWS sites on May 1st is 67% of median, increasing from 62% on April 15th. The provincial average for all ASWS sites becomes difficult to calculate when some stations melt to zero SWE, while higher elevations are still accumulating snowpack. 

A provincial composite graph of all automated stations with relatively long-term record is shown below. The data for the graph begins in 1988.

The Fraser River basin stations average 68% of median for May 1st, increasing from 64% on April 15th.

The May 1, 2024 Snow and Water Supply Bulletin is scheduled to be released on Thursday, May 9, 2024. The official Snow Basin Indices are calculated in the Bulletin and include measurements from nearly 100 manual snow surveys.