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 15, 2025

Warm and drier weather occurred at the start of May before switching to primarily seasonal temperatures and showery conditions. The upcoming week continues the cooler to seasonal temperature trend with light to moderate precipitation possible, particularly for coastal areas of the province. 

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, 186KB)*. Hyperlinks to interactive plots are available for each ASWS in the table.

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

The provincial average for May 15th at all ASWS sites is 64% of the period of record median, decreasing from 73% on May 1st. 

Based on the average of all active ASWS sites, the peak date of snow this year was April 11th. As of May 15th, 36% of the total snowpack at the ASWS sites has melted since the peak. Typically, about 21% of the snowpack melts by May 15th.

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

^{From the above graph, the May 15th percentage of average is 64% (May 1st: 77%) and at the 11th percentile (May 1st: 2nd).} 

The May 15th, 2025 Snow and Water Supply Bulletin is scheduled to be released May 22nd or 23rd, 2025, based on data availability. The official Snow Basin Indices are calculated within the Bulletin.