The amount of snowpack in the Prince George area was above normal for February 1st.
According to the BC River Forecast Centre, the Upper Fraser West basin was at 117% of the normal snowpack, and the Upper Fraser East was at 119%.
Hydrologist Jonathan Boyd says with warmer than normal temperatures forecasted in February, there still isn’t much concern over snowmelt.
“The likelihood is the only areas that would be affected would be the low elevations sites where there is snow, and you might see a bit of melting” Boyd explained.
“Typically, we won’t really start experiencing any significant melt until probably mid-to-late March at the absolute earliest, and more likely into April, and sometimes even May.”
Boyd says the snowpack up in the mountains will typically not be affected unless there is extreme heat.
He added that warmer temperatures have brought some significant storms, which have spilled over into the Upper Fraser East area, and the snowpack in that area has gone up 13 or 14 percentage points since the first.
“We have had a big start to February for the Upper Fraser, and I would classify that as quite concerning as we move forward to the spring period,” Boyd said.
Boyd said he thinks the numbers in the Upper Fraser could increase quite substantially for March.
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