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, 2025

January typically averages the highest mountain snow accumulation of any month. Monthly snowpack accumulation is trending well below normal at the halfway point of January 2025 due to prolonged dry weather patterns. Only one impactful storm directed at the northern coastal regions brought a meaningful snow accumulation during the Jan 10-12 weekend. Another storm is impacting the same area over the next couple days; however, weather models predict the rest of the province to remain relatively dry for the upcoming 10-day weather forecast.  

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 January 15th at all ASWS sites is 89% of the period of record median, decreasing from 98% on January 1st. The Fraser River basin stations average 88% (January 1st: 96%). By January 15th, on average, approximately 55% of the total seasonal snowpack has accumulated.

As of January 15th, ASWS measured increases in the Northwest (+19 percentage points), Stikine (+9), Skeena-Nass (+5) and Upper Fraser East (+3). Snowpack remained level relative to median at the single stations within the Central Coast and Upper Fraser West. The greatest decreases since the start of January occurred in the Liard (-30) and East Kootenay (-20), while the rest of the province decreased between 5 to 15 percentage points.

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 January 15th percentage of average is 83% (January 1st: 92%) and at the 18th percentile (January 1st: 34th).}

The February 1st, 2025 Snow and Water Supply Bulletin is scheduled to be released approximately February 10th or 11th, 2025, based on data availability. The bulletin offers a more detailed and comprehensive summary of the February 1st snowpack statistics and includes approximately 75 Manual Snow Survey measurements. The official Snow Basin Indices are calculated within the Bulletin.