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.

January 15, 2026

Storm activity continued through the first half of January, supporting generally above-normal mountain snowpack accumulation. A warm atmospheric river event from January 10–13 brought mild and wet conditions to the coast, resulting in some snowmelt at lower-elevation stations on Vancouver Island and the South Coast. Looking ahead, a strong high-pressure ridge developing over the eastern Pacific is forecast to bring stable, warm, and very dry conditions for at least the next 7 days.

A complete listing of Automated Snow Weather Stations (ASWS), expressed as a percent of the long-term median for each station’s entire period of record, is available in the ASWS Weekly Summary (PDF, 385 KB)*. Hyperlinks to interactive plots are provided for each station within the table.

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

The provincial average across all ASWS sites is 127% of the period-of-record median for January 15, 2026, decreasing slightly from 130% on January 1. Stations within the Fraser River basin average 126% (January 1: 131%). By January 15^th, on average, approximately 60% of the seasonal snowpack has typically accumulated.

As of January 15^th, the lowest ASWS basin averages are observed on Vancouver Island (70%) and in the Okanagan (84%). The highest basin averages occur in the Liard (175%), Upper Fraser West (161%), and Central Coast (157%) regions.

The regions with the greatest increases since January 1^st include the Northwest (+20 percentage points), Stikine (+15), Upper Fraser West (+12), Upper Columbia (+11), South Coast (+9), and North Thompson (+9). Although not split out in the data table, stations within the Cariboo/Quesnel region increased by 13 percentage points over the past two weeks.

The regions with the largest decreases since January 1^st include the Middle Fraser (–22), Liard (–20), Similkameen (–19), and Boundary (–16). Similar to the Cariboo/Quesnel region, the Lower Thompson is not split out in the data table; however, stations within this region decreased by 38 percentage points over the same period.

Two longer-term stations in the West Kootenay are currently measuring all-time record high SWE values for January 15^th:

• St. Leon Creek (2B08P) – since 1992
• Redfish Creek (2D14P) – since 2001

A provincial composite graph of automated stations with relatively long-term records (beginning in 1988) is provided below.

^{Based on this composite, the January 15th percentage of median is 122% (Jan 1: 123%), placing current conditions at approximately the 80th  percentile (Jan 1: 81st percentile).}   

The next commentary will be released on Monday, February 2, 2026. The February 1, 2026 Snow and Water Supply Bulletin is scheduled to be released between February 10 or 11. The bulletin offers a more comprehensive summary of the February 1st snow pack conditions includes the official Snow Basin Indices.