Current snowpack the lowest on record

B.C.'s snowpack is at a five-decade low, easing fears about spring flooding but heightening concerns about an increased risk of drought in the spring and summer.

According to the latest monthly snow survey, the snowpack average for B.C. was at only 63 per cent of the historical average in April.

It's the lowest snowpack level since record-keeping for the province began in 1970, said Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the River Forecast Centre, which analyzes snowpack conditions, water supply and flood risk across the province.

In 2015, the figure for April was 66 per cent of the normal snowpack. Another low year was 1981 at 68 per cent of normal snowpack.

Last year's April snowpack average was also low, but not as low, at 88 per cent of normal. That was followed by a drought that forced water-use restrictions across much of the province, and a record year for wildfires.

Snowpack levels varied among measuring stations, but 28 stations — about 18 per cent of all sites — reported record lows.

The snowpack is extremely low in the Quesnel and Williams Lake areas in the Cariboo and in the Terrace and Smithers areas in the Skeena-Nass region.

On the South Coast, the snowpack is at 53 per cent of normal, and on Vancouver Island, 49 per cent. While low, these figures are significantly higher than in April 2015, when the South Coast was at 13 per cent of normal and the Island was at 15 per cent.

About 95 per cent of the seasonal snowpack has usually accumulated as of April, although Boyd says it is possible for the levels to rise into May if it's a cold, wet spring.