It’s a “good news, bad news” scenario for B.C.’s snowpack levels, according to the province’s first Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin of 2025.
The report states that as of Jan. 1, the provincial snowpack is slightly below normal, averaging 87 per cent of normal (13 per cent below normal) across B.C. However, this compares favourably with the same time last year, when the provincial average stood at 56 per cent of normal.
The report notes that by early January, nearly half of B.C.’s annual snowpack has typically accumulated. There are still three or more months left in the snow accumulation season, and the snowpack can change significantly based on upcoming weather patterns.
The Lower Thompson — which includes Lytton, Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Clinton, and Merritt — is at 133 per cent of normal. It is one of four areas comprising the Middle Fraser region, which stands at 88 per cent of normal overall. Both the North and South Thompson regions are at 100 per cent of normal; there was not enough data to calculate the snowpack level for the Chilcotin region.
The area with the smallest snowpack is the Skagit region southwest of the Similkameen, which is sitting at 18 per cent of normal. This represents an improvement over the same time last year, when the region had zero per cent of its normal snowpack.
This is in line with the overall trend of increasing snowpacks compared with this time last year. However, four regions in the province’s northwest are showing snowpacks that are smaller than they were last January.
The report notes that December 2024 was a very warm month, with at least 10 long-term monitoring locations reporting measurements within their top five warmest December temperatures on record. These include Kamloops, where records go back to 1890, Quesnel (1898), and Williams Lake (1961). December 2023 was even warmer: in that year, six locations recorded their warmest December on record.
Seasonal weather forecasts made in late December 2024 by Environment and Climate Change Canada indicate a greater likelihood of above normal temperatures for B.C. from January through March 2025.
The Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin is conducted by the province’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and uses data from 40 manual snow courses and 113 automated snow weather services around B.C. The next report is due out around Feb. 10.
